"So you haven't actually got anything specific?" Jongin hums as he looks over all the annotated, failed spells. His keen eyes scan the pages as he flips through them.

"Uh… no, not as such." Kyungsoo looks away, embarrassed. Had Jongin thought he was onto something? No, Kyungsoo is still struggling to put together the pieces. He had hoped to find a pattern by doing all this, and he... sort of did? But it's more of a pattern of where things keep going wrong . He can't help but feel like he's missing something glaringly obvious, but the more he stares at the sheets of paper, the more his eyes cross.

"Well, if nothing else, you've found a couple of symbols that the circle doesn't work with, at least?" Jongin shrugs. "We can make your computer program cut out any circles that have them in, right?

"That's true, but I've already done that."

"Oh." Jongin scratches his head, "have you tried tracing the path? Is there anything that the circle responds particularly well to?"

"There's a few yeah." Kyungsoo rubs his forehead, glad for Jongin’s smart observations. He's already more stressed about everything than he has reason to be. He’d woken more than once in the night from nightmares, and getting into work that morning was a hassle that Kyungsoo hadn't expected, either. Well, he had expected the anxious phone call from his mother, but not all the people crowding around the entrance to his workplace. Many of them looked like reporters. Kyungsoo hadn't said anything yesterday about working here; but he had said his name. Had they found out so quickly?

It hadn't taken them long to spot him and his heart dropped through the floor at all the attention. Jongin had offered himself up as a shield, pushing through the ruckus to get them inside. Kyungsoo is pretty sure this isn't what the man signed up for, but he's glad anyway, if not a little guilty. It would have taken him ages to get through all these reporters by himself. He'd been accosted again in the lobby, by Jongdae, Baekhyun and Wendy. All three of them had crowed over him and Jongin, asking for details and worrying.

"We’re fine," he had told them, “just want to get back to normal." Hah. Normal.

Together, he and Jongin shared, as briefly as possible, what happened. Their expressions match their own as they tell them exactly how Chanyeol came to end up in the hospital, but their praise is genuine.

“I think we should celebrate your bravery. And your claim to fame.” Jongdae had joked. To Kyungsoo, it looked more like Jongdae was the one who needs this night out; something to cheer him up. He says as much to Jongin,

“I think you’re right. I wouldn’t mind a quiet night in after all that, but it would probably be good for all of us if we did something else, to help us get past it.”

“Yeah. I think it could be fun.” A couple of hours to not think about anything that’s going on in the real world.

“I definitely think so. I’m looking forward to it.”

In the end, Baekhyun is the one who gets full reign of their destination. He was the wildest party-goer back in the day and knows all the best places to go. He had listened to Kyungsoo's requirements and said that he had the perfect place in mind. Kyungsoo had been wary at first, but when they arrived at the entrance of the place, The Gibbous Moon, it didn't look too bad. Sure, it had a dance floor, but it had a live band playing, rather than a DJ, which was easier on Jongin's ears.

The whole group, about twenty people in total, from all over the Department of Magical Research, piled into the place, mingling in with the patrons already there. Kyungsoo, with Jongin on his arm, looking a little nervous, heads straight to the bar to buy a drink, but he's stopped by Wendy.

"This is a celebration on your behalf." She has to shout to be heard over the music, "besides, Jongdae said he was going to pay for the first round, remember?" Kyungsoo nods, laughing a bit. Jongdae's probably going to regret that, now he knows how many people he's buying for.

“Tell him I want a mojito?” Jongin shouts, tongue peeking out of the side of his mouth, teasing. Jongdae is going to hate him for it. Wendy finger guns, understanding his line of thinking. Kyungsoo blinks rapidly, looking away from Jongin’s mouth, and asks,

"Have we got a table yet?"

"Over there!" She points behind him and to the right, at a long table that's almost full. The pair of them are waved over by Baekhyun and ushered to some empty seats by Wendy.

"What do you think of the music?" Baekhyun asks, face a little too close, but it means Kyungsoo can hear him clearly. They are closer to the back, away from the stage, but that doesn't mean it’s much quieter.

"I like it." He gives Baekhyun a thumbs up. When he's a bit drunker, he'll probably be bobbing his head to the beat. There's a young woman up on stage, singing and dancing in front of the rest of the band, "I like this kind of music."

"I knew you'd like it here." Baekhyun grins, then turning to Jongin, leaning over Kyungsoo to shout at him. "I hear you haven't been out much, Kyungsoo hasn't been taking care of you very well, has he? If you want to have a good night out, just hit me up!"

"I'll consider it." Jongin laughs. Something about their exchange has Kyungsoo squirming with jealousy, as much as he tries to squish it down. He reminds himself that he doesn't actually own Jongin, even though he's his familiar. The thought of Jongin spending a night out with Baekhyun, though, makes him feel sorry for himself. He wants to be the one taking Jongin out into the city, showing him all the cool places, and spending time with him.

"You have my number, right? I can take you to the best hidden clubs, the ones that tourists don't know about."

“I do.” Jongin nods.

“Let me know when you’re free,”Baekhyun says with a grin, and sits back in his seat. Kyungsoo’s fingers twitch, wanting to reach over and...what? Put his hand on Jongin’s leg in some kind of territorial display? He bites his lip, looking up at Jongin through his eyelashes. Jongin is already looking at him, smirking like he knows exactly what he’s thinking. Embarrassed at being caught, Kyungsoo turns his head, trying to not look like a schoolboy with a crush.

Jongdae and one of his other colleagues, arrive a moment later with as many beers as they can carry at one time. He's spilling them everywhere as people take them off him, but no one seems to mind. He shoots a playful glare at Jongin, heads back to the bar, and brings back the only glass of the round, handing it to Jongin with a flourish.

“Your majesty.” He pretends to bow to Jongin, then hands Kyungsoo a bottle of beer. “At least some people are nice. Thank you Kyungsoo.”

“C’mon, it was only two trips.” Jongin chuckles, taking a sip.

“I’ll give you a one way trip to the hospital.” He waves his fist mock-threateningly, which has Kyungsoo giggling.

“Oh so you’re on his side now?!” Jongin throws one hand in the air, dramatically. “I don’t believe this.”

“No, no! I was just thinking I should have gotten a cocktail too.” Kyungsoo says, laughing harder when Jongdae turns his faux-rage on him as well.

“Do you want some of mine?” Jongin offers him a taste of his drink, and Kyungsoo takes it. Jongin doesn’t let go of the glass, so Kyungsoo ends up holding his hand as well as the glass as he sips the minty drink. It’s refreshing.

“Thanks.” He smiles at Jongin. He’s missed this; just talking with his friends, and sort of flirting with Jongin. He’s been too absent lately, and it’s hurting everyone. Almost losing Chanyeol has made him realise that he shouldn’t waste the opportunities he’s given. Jongdae is right. Again. There has to be time for a relationship, and even if there’s not, he will make time. Jongin is worth it.

Once everyone has their drinks, and glasses have been handed out, Jongdae stands at the far end of the table and claps his hands loudly until everyone is looking at him.

"First of all, I want to congratulate Kyungsoo and Jongin, once again, for doing what they did, and being so courageous in the face of danger!" Everyone cheers, raising their glasses or bottles, and Kyungsoo and Jongin share a lingering look, "I also propose that we have a moment of silence for Chanyeol. I know he's not dead, he's actually doing pretty well, but we all know that he and his boyfriend, would love to be here. Him and Kyungsoo and everyone were so brave that day, let's give them a round of applause!" He starts clapping again and before long, so many people are joining that they've attracted the attention of the band.

"Here's to Kyungsoo, Jongin and especially Chanyeol, singlehandedly defeating the Hanjurians and protecting the country of GeunTo!" He knocks back his drink and everyone else follows suit.

Kyungsoo hides his burning face in his glass, drinking to cover the embarrassment. Despite the shyness, he's proud of himself and of Jongin. He couldn't have done any this without him, it just wasn't realistic of him to think so.

Most of the night passes in a blur of socialising and chatting with people. He doesn't have to buy himself a drink once; thanks to Wendy, Jongdae and everyone else who pitches in to pay for him and Jongin.

Baekhyun buys a round of shots, midway through the evening, which makes everything even blurrier. Kyungsoo finds himself drifting closer and closer to Jongin, curling into his side as he fiddles with his phone case again. More than half of their group has been lost to the dance floor, the band from earlier still playing, hours later. Through the warm haze of the alcohol, Kyungsoo is impressed.

Jongin stays sat next to him, staring at Jongdae, who is making a fool of himself again.

"You can go dance, if you want. I'll watch you." Kyungsoo reminds him, resting his open palm on his thigh to get his attention. Jongin's eyebrows twitch, processing what he's just said. Is he slurring his words or something?

"If I dance, will you join me?"

"Uh." Kyungsoo stares dumbly at him. Why not? He's got nothing to lose. "Sure." He holds out a hand, and Jongin tugs them both up. Kyungsoo giggles, swaying into Jongin dizzily as he leads them closer to the music. Jongin never lets go of his hand, twirling Kyungsoo around and dancing cheesily. He's not as bad as Jongdae is, but he's ducking his head like, well, a duck, and Kyungsoo can't stop laughing. He slings his arms around Jongin's shoulders, loosely linking his fingers at the back of his neck, and dances like that. The music doesn’t match, but he doesn’t care. The warm lighting overhead casts Jongin’s face into an odd relief, without detracting from his handsomeness. He lets himself get lost in Jongin's eyes, only distracted when his hands are on his hips.

The were-cat is gorgeous. This is more than just drunken -ness. Kyungsoo must be in love with him, that's the only explanation for these fuzzy feelings whenever he looks at him. He doesn't want him to leave, he didn't even want him to find a different apartment, not really, not even at the beginning. His gaze drifts lower, locking onto Jongin's lips- would it be ok if...? Without really thinking about it, he stands up on his tiptoes. Everything is out of control, but it's fine. Kyungsoo feels it in his bones.

"Whoa, hey now." Jongin turns his head so Kyungsoo's lips land on his cheek instead. He let's go of his hip with one hand, pinning him to his chest so that he's trapped there. What the hell?

"Jongin?"

"We both know I'm better at handling my drinks than you are. I don't want you to do something you'll regret in the morning."

"I won't- I won't regret this." Kyungsoo insists, his voice coming out muffled against the other man's shirt.

"If that's the case, then you can continue this tomorrow, when you're sober, how does that sound?"

"Terrible. I want to kiss you now. " He mumbles into Jongin's chest. He can feel the vibrations of his laughter jostling him.

"So do I, but I won't be burned twice. I'm not that kind of guy." Kyungsoo looks up at him, a little disgruntled that things aren’t going his way, now that he’s actually allowing them to. Doesn’t Jongin want to kiss him? A light pressure brushes his leg, distracting him; he looks behind him irritated that someone else probably brushed him, but that’s not the case at all. Instead of being annoyed, Kyungsoo laughs.

“Your tail likes me.” He reaches down to the soft fur of Jongin’s tail, which is curled up around his thigh. The moment Kyungsoo touches it, it flicks away from him. Kyungsoo makes a small disappointed noise, then a bright idea occurs to him. He’s wanted to touch Jongin’s ears the entire time he’s known him, but never known how to bring it up.

“Could I touch your ears instead?”

“What?” Jongin looks at him, amused, “maybe you should switch to soft drinks from now on.”

“‘M not that drunk.” Kyungsoo says, his statement followed up with a burp. Ok. Maybe he is a little drunk. He frowns. Jongin laughs in his face.

“You’re very drunk. ” Jongin corrects him, “ I guess I’m just better at drinking than you. But sure, you can touch my ears if you want to? I guess? Just be gentle, ok?” He tilts his head down, letting Kyungsoo run the back of his fingers along it; he takes Jongin’s request to be gentle seriously. The fur on his ears is smooth and shiny just like his tail and, if he’s being honest, his normal hair as well. It blends in perfectly, and looks really pretty.

“Thank you.” Jongin chuckles. He hadn’t realised he’d been saying all that aloud. He apologises, but doesn’t stop Jongin’s ears, concentrating.

“What the ?” Baekhyun, having come to talk to them at just the wrong moment, yells over the music. Kyungsoo recoils clumsily, pinning his hands down by his side, “is this some kind of freaky ?” He laughs at his own joke while Kyungsoo indignantly untangles himself from Jongin’s arms.

“I just came over to tell you that some of us are moving on- we’re going to a club. Thought I’d extend an invite to you. A couple of others are heading home now too, so no shame if you go home as well”

“No thank you.” Jongin answers, “maybe another time, but I don’t trust Kyungsoo to get home safe on his own.”

“I c’n use the subway. I’m drunk, not a baby. You can go if you want.” Baekhyun looks him up and down, and shakes his head. Offended at his heavy judgement, Kyungsoo flips him off.

“You’re such a lightweight. Bye Jongin! See you, Kyungsoo.” He pulls Kyungsoo in for a one arm-hug, then leaves. Kyungsoo stands on his tiptoes, trying to spot Jongdae through the crowds; he’s there by the door, putting on his jacket. When he sees Kyungsoo, he waves, grinning brightly. He mouths something that Kyungsoo doesn’t quite catch, following the rest of his colleagues out into the cold. Kyungsoo feels a bit dejected, being left behind like that; isn’t tonight meant to be for their sake?

“It’s ok.” Jongin tells Kyungsoo, tugging him a little closer and preventing him from being hit by another dancing drunk. “We can stay here a bit longer, or we can head home now, what do you want?”

Kyungsoo doesn’t feel like staying here anymore and without even having to say anything, Jongin seems to pick up on that.

“Let’s go home, Kyungsoo.” Jongin says, taking Kyungsoo’s hand. Kyungsoo twines their fingers together, loving how it feels.

When Kyungsoo wakes the next morning to the sound of his bleeping alarm, head throbbing and thirsty, he's both glad and disappointed that Jongin is not in bed with him. Through the mist of his alcohol boggled mind, Kyungsoo recalls the warm lighting and even warmer arms of Jongin surrounding him. He had tried to kiss him again, but Jongin had turned him down. Well, that's kind of embarrassing.

While Kyungsoo brushes his teeth, then downs two painkillers and a whole glasses of water, he wonders if that means he's missed his chance. It wouldn't surprise him. If he pushed him away, what should he expect? Jongin has probably moved on by now.

He leans against the kitchen counter, eating a bowl of leftover curry and rice, and watching Jongin sleeping. It's a little creepy, but he's going to try waking him up in a minute anyway. Swallowing the last mouthful, he puts his crockery aside, and kneels next to Jongin. He looks so young like this, tangled around all the blankets and cushions. That warm, gentle feeling in his chest comes back when Kyungsoo looks at him like this. He’s an awful person for messing around with his feelings like he has. Kyungsoo wants to push the hair out of his face, away from his forehead, but he just doesn't know where he stands with Jongin at the moment. He settles for shaking his shoulder instead.

Jongin moans softly, eyes screwing up as he awakens.

"Ugh. What time is it?" He complains, rubbing at his eyes. Kyungsoo winces, knowing how he must be feeling, if the pounding in his own head is any indication. He just has to wait for the painkillers to kick in.

"Time to wake up." He says, "c'mon, we have to be in for at least nine today." Nine is being generous; usually it's an eight o'clock start. Jongin grumbles under his breath and rolls over. Kyungsoo watches fondly as he mutters under his breath for a few minutes, before eventually sitting up, his back against the sofa.

He looks up at Kyungsoo, watching and waiting for something. Searching. Kyungsoo isn't sure what Jongin wants to hear from him.

"Good morning?" He tries.

"Morning." Jongin replies, voice gravelly. They're silent for a while, before Jongin sighs, looking defeated, and gets up.

"I'll get you some painkillers." Kyungsoo calls after him, as he heads towards the bathroom, still only dressed in his boxers. He watches his back muscles as he walks away, confused but appreciative. What could he want? He wracks his pounding brain for something, whatever it is that he’s missing, while Jongin brushes his teeth.

Did he do something weird last night? The details are fuzzy, but he remembers trying to kiss Jongin. And then….then Jongin had told him to try again when he was sober. Did he think he wasn’t serious, is that it? Actually, Kyugnsoo doesn’t blame him; the only times he’s ever acted on his feelings is when he’s drunk. No wonder Jongin is disappointed in him.

He needs to fix this, right now, before things get out of hand. He feels sick, thinking about what the consequences to this might be, however he knows that this needs to be done. He can’t carry on trying to pretend that he doesn’t have feelings for Jongin, and he can’t carry on hurting him like this. It’s only going to break both of them.

Being on time for work can wait.

He’s still knelt in exactly the same place when Jongin returns, clean and fresh. He walks past him, going straight for his suitcase to grab some clothes, all without saying anything else. Jongin goes back to the bathroom to get dressed, and Kyungsoo runs through a million ways of saying ‘I love you’ that aren’t going to sound weird, or out of place, or just stupid.

“Kyungsoo? You ok?” Jongin asks, this time emerging with clothes on. “You’re kind of freaking me out.”

“I want to kiss you.” Kyungsoo says, instantly feeling like a moron. “I-I mean, I’m sober and I want to kiss you. And other stuff, like… I. I don’t know.” . Could he have messed up any worse?

“Right.” Jongin folds his arms, mouth a straight line. Kyungsoo covers his face and wishes he were dead.

“I’m sorry,” he carries on talking, hardly able to stop himself now that he’s started, “I understand if you don’t want to have anything to do with me after everything I’ve done; it’s fine, I probably wouldn’t want that either, if I were you, but I just wanted you to know how I feel. I want to take back what I said about forgetting about you know . I mean, I guess you probably already figured out that I’m kind of ed up when it comes to this sort of thing and, again, I’m really sorry for stringing you along, but I was kind of hoping that….that maybe we-” he cuts himself off, horrified, “you know what, nevermind, I’m sorry, this was stupid.”

“Wait, wait what?” Jongin stops Kyungsoo before he can stalk off to his room and bury his head in the sand. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” He sounds nervous. Kyungsoo gulps, and braces himself.

“I’m saying that I have feelings for you.” He whispers. He knows Jongin can hear him.

“I… don’t understand.” Jongin’s grip on his arm loosens, and Kyungsoo turns around to face him properly. His lost expression tears another hole in Kyungsoo’s chest, “I thought…”

“That I was only interested in you for ?” Kyungsoo cringes at what he’s saying. “I know it seemed that way. I’m so sorry for that. This is going to sound stupid but….I was trying to be professional?” Kyungsoo tries his best to explain. It sounds so dumb coming from his mouth now; if Jongdae were here, he would be saying ‘I told you so!’.

“You ‘re so smart yet sometimes you’re so dumb.” Jongin shakes his head, barking out a laugh that sort of sounds like a sob. “You can have a relationship with someone you work with, it won’t k- it’s not a bad thing.”

“I didn’t want to ruin anything.” Kyungsoo mumbles. “I’m sorry that I freaked out on you before, if I could go back to that morning and tell myself to do things differently, I would.”

“Wait, let me get this straight. So you’re saying… you’re saying that you want to? To try being ‘us’ as in not just wizard and familiar?”

“I...well that’s a confusing way of putting it but yeah.”

“I thought that you…” Jongin puts his hands on his head and takes a step back. Biting the inside of his cheek, Kyungsoo wants to have everything out in the open now, before he loses the courage to say it.

“I think that you’re far too nice to me, and I would have quit if I were you, but I’m so glad that you didn’t. I really, really like you, Jongin. I just… I guess I just wanted you to know.” He shrugs. Jongin breathes in heavily through his nose.

“You’re right. You have hurt me, a lot. I thought about quitting. But it was all so weird? I can’t resent you for doing what you did, I know that it made sense to you at the time and I understand where you were coming from. I could see that you were hurting just as much, like you were punishing yourself? I didn’t want to leave you alone, though, because I knew that you would just work yourself into the ground. I kept wondering why you wouldn’t just let yourself relax. For a little while, at least.”

“I’m sorry.” Kyungsoo apologises again, not knowing what else to say. He has to bite down hard on his lip to stop himself from crying. He knew he was hurting Jongin, but hearing him say it out loud, and basically say that he forgives him for all of it? Kyungsoo doesn’t deserve this.

“I’m pretty sure that you know how I feel about you , it’s not like I was ever subtle.” Jongin carries on.

“What, you mean all the flirting? I thought you were just naturally like that.”

“Well, I am. But have you ever seen me like that with anyone else?” Kyungsoo thinks about it, but nothing comes to mind.

“No.”

“I thought you were cute the moment I saw you. Actually, the moment I saw your message. I looked you up on the internet to make sure you weren’t some creepy old guy.”

“What? Oh no.” Kyungsoo flushes. “That’s so embarrassing.”

“It’s ok.” Jongin reassures, “you have this odd talent of making yourself unhateable. Or maybe that’s just me?” Kyungsoo half laughs, half cries.

“Now you’re just being ridiculous.” Kyungsoo mumbles, reaching out and winding his arms around Jongin’s waist. It feels wrong; his mind is yelling at him that he shouldn’t risk this, but the moment Jongin hugs him back, that all disappears. He lets out a shaky breath, and closes his eyes. He should have done this sooner.

“No I’m not.” Jongin insists, “everyone is more worried about you than anything else. Jongdae has been asking about you, and so has Baekhyun and Chanyeol.”

“I didn’t want to worry anyone,” Kyungsoo confesses, “and I didn’t want to make you feel like I was abusing you, as my familiar, so…” He trails off. There’s a moment of hush, wherein Kyungsoo wonders again what he did to have someone like Jongin in his life. Besides hiring him, of course.

“So what do we do about all this?” Jongin asks, “now that we both know we have feelings for each other. Do you… want to try dating?”

“I want to.” Kyungsoo agrees, looking up at Jongin. “I just don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“How about we just take it slow then? Things don’t have to change much, if you don’t want them to.” He reminds him, resting his cheek on top of Kyungsoo’s head, “we can just carry on as we are; going to work, come home, hang out. The usual stuff.”

“Dating suddenly sounds so unromantic.”

“You want romantic? I’ll buy a candle.”

“That’s more like it.” They both laugh, and Kyungsoo finds that he loves the sound of his laugh this close.

“I’ll sprinkle some heart confetti around our office, how’s that sound?”

“Sounds messy?”

“I promise I’ll clean it up afterwards. Speaking of work, shouldn’t we be heading in soon?” Jongin reminds him, causing Kyungsoo to tense up, “hey, hey, it’s alright. We can head in now, we’re only half an hour behind schedule. I doubt we’ll be the only people in late.”

“I guess. Baekhyun is probably not going to get in until lunch.” Kyungsoo laughs weakly. He untangles himself from Jongin’s embrace, reluctant to leave his arms. “One more thing; can we not tell people right away? I think it would be better if we let ourselves get used to this, ” he gestures between them, ”first. Before dealing with anyone else.” By which he means Jongdae, specifically. He heads back to his room, fetching his shoes.

“No problem.” Jongin grins after him, “I need to make myself believe that I’m not still dreaming, so a few days will probably be good.”

After washing his face again, Kyungsoo leaves the house, with Jongin in tow. Kyungsoo is anxious to get into work as quickly as possible, so he sets a brisk pace, leading Jongin along by the hand. Jongin lingers close by on the subway, despite it being quieter than their usual time, and it makes Kyungsoo giddy. He’s waiting for the other shoe to drop, sure that he shouldn’t be allowed to be happy like this with everything at stake.

Just before they enter their office, Jongdae comes barrelling out of his office.

“Kyungsoo! Jongin!” He says, “have you heard anything from Chanyeol?”

“Uh, no?” Kyungsoo says, mouth turning down, “why, is there something wrong?”

“Oh, no, I don’t think so. I just haven’t heard anything from him yet, and Sehun hasn’t posted to Celestegram yet. I was just getting worried- usually Sehun posts something every day.” Kyungsoo frowns. Hopefully that just means they’ve been too busy, not that something awful has happened. Oh god, in the emotional turmoil of last night and this morning, he had almost forgotten all about him.

"We can go visit Chanyeol in the hospital, if you like?"

"That’s a good idea. Will put my mind at ease." Jongdae says, "it's my fault that he was out there anyway." He looks terrible. A hangover and acute worry will do that to a man.

“It wasn’t your fault that he went out there. He chose to be a hero.” Kyungsoo says. Jongdae hums dejectedly, and Kyungsoo pats him on the arm without a word; it wasn’t his fault, but Kyungsoo knows nothing he says can convince him otherwise.

“We’ll head over there after work, ok?” Kyungsoo promises, squeezing his arm in a way that he hopes is reassuring. Jongdae nods slowly.

“Ok. You’re right.”

“Have you tried messaging either of them?” Jongin pitches in. Jongdae nods,

“Yeah, but they haven’t seen my messages It could just be that there’s bad wifi at the hospital or something? I don’t know.”

“That’s probably it.” Jongin say, “I doubt would be anything wrong; you would have heard about it from somewhere.”

“I guess so.” Jongdae sighs deeply, “I just feel responsible for him, you know? He’s like a nephew or another cousin or something. I didn’t mean for any of you to end up in the situation you got stuck in. I’m sorry for setting you two up, as well by the way, that was insensitive of me as well.”

“Jongdae…” Kyungsoo’s mouth falls agape. He’s never known him to be so upset over something, and he’s certainly not the type to apologise. If it weren’t a serious situation, he would make a joke about wishing he had recorded that. “You don’t need to apologise for that, you were just trying to help. And, I mean, it kind of helped?” He looks to Jongin, checking that it’s ok to say this, “me and Jongin talked about a few things, and we understand each other more now.” Vague, but not a lie. Jongin raises one eyebrow, and Kyungsoo mouths ‘soon’ at him.

“Yeah? I’m glad.” He rubs his hands together, a nervous tick. “Right then, I suppose I had better get back to work. I’ll see you guys later?”

“Yeah. We can all go to the hospital together, maybe get food after?” Kyungsoo suggests. Jongdae nods, smiling wanly.

“Sounds good. See you later.” He says, mock saluting them before going back into his office. Jongin and Kyungsoo stand there for a moment, before Jongin takes Kyungsoo’s hand, which has his card in, and swipes the scanner for him.

“Hey!” Kyungsoo squawks, pretending to smack him, before heading inside. “Ugh, I hope Chanyeol really is doing alright.” He says, putting down his laptop bag on his desk.

“He’ll be fine.” Jongin says, rubbing Kyungsoo’s back like it’s the most casual thing in the world. Kyungsoo purses his lips so he doesn’t smile.

“I hope so. Anyway, let’s get back to it, shall we?” Jongin nods, spreading out sheets of paper and pulling his chair up closer to Kyungsoo’s.

Just looking at the spell makes him feel tired again. He’s not alone, though.

They can do this.

Jongin gnaws on his lip in concentration. His tail flicks like a cat watching its prey, which, Kyungsoo supposes he kinda is .

They’ve been at this for almost two hours now, poring over all the annotated sheets Kyungsoo had made.

"Uuh… what about this?" Jongin points at one of the symbols on the page, one that Kyungsoo had annotated positively.

"What about it?" He leans over Jongin's shoulder, peering at it. It's the only one of its kind that they've used.

"Maybe we could try narrowing things down and only using spell designs which have all the positives and none of the negatives?"

"Already doing that." Kyungsoo sighs.

"Well, the right combination will turn up sooner or later, right? If we keep narrowing it down every time one fails, then we'll have it even quicker?"

"I guess? I was hoping for something more… decisive than that." Kyungsoo admits weakly. Jongin purses his lips and hums again.

"Could we just scrap the whole thing? Would it be possible to design a completely new spell?"

"That would take even longer." Kyungsoo moans, shaking his head vehemently, "we can't do that."

Jongin rubs his face. "I kind of understand how you're feeling then. This isn't easy, huh?" He and Kyungsoo both stare at the mess of papers, as if waiting for something to jump out of them.

Suddenly, Jongin pushes his chair backwards and opens the drawer where the old tome filled with ancient circles lies, pulling it out. He drops it on the table, where it lands loudly, sending a few sheets of paper to the floor. Disgruntled, Kyungsoo reaches down to pick them up, as Jongin scours the contents page.

"What page is it?" He asks distractedly.

"Two hundred and twenty four. Why?"

"I just want to have a look at this." He says, flipping carefully through the delicate leafs of paper until he reaches the right one.

The image has haunted Kyungsoo's every waking moment ever since he took this project. It's dense and crowded, each tiny symbol taunting him.

"The circle has to stay the same, sure, but do you think the direction of the lines could be changed? I notice that all of the variations with the new, modern symbols are sticking to this same pattern, but what if you need to, say… rework the wiring?" He makes a face, “I don’t know much in depth spell stuff, so that might be me barking up the wrong tree.”

Kyungsoo considers that for a moment. It would mean more work, sure, but it’s a possibility. Why hasn't he thought of doing that before? Maybe all the stress has fried his brain.

"Let’s give it a shot." He shrugs, pushing aside the old book to free up space.

Kyungsoo isn't a fan of hospitals. He doesn't hate them, per say, he just doesn't like them much. They always have the same smell of cleaning products and sickness.

After work, he, Jongin and Jongdae had bundled into a taxi together and split the fare between them. Though Jongdae had tried to insist that he should pay for it.

The city hospital is huge and has been refurbished so many times that it looks like a patchwork of different architectural styles. Kyungsoo has only been here a few times; once when he broke his arm as a child, and then again when his dad needed a knee operation.

It still feels as large and overwhelming as he remembers. He reaches for Jongin’s hand.

"I'll go ask the secretary what room he's in." Jongdae volunteers, while Kyungsoo and Jongin hang back.

"Do you think he'll be ok to have visitors so soon?" Jongin asks quietly and Kyungsoo shrugs.

It turns out that Chanyeol is in a room by himself, on the third floor, in one of the more recently built rooms.

When they arrive, Sehun is already in there, talking softly to him while holding one of his hands in both of his own. The burns look terrible; his skin has erupted in blisters, and red-purple colouration extends past his face and underneath his hospital gown. Kyungsoo can hardly bear to look at him; the pain must be unimaginable. Patches of his hair are missing and there's a gash across his cheek from what Kyungsoo can only assume is shrapnel.

Both of them look up in surprise when they enter, halting their conversation.

"What are you doing here?" Chanyeol asks, completely shocked. Jongdae splutters.

"Am I not allowed to visit my favourite intern while he's in hospital?" He gasps melodramatically, "especially when it's partly my fault that he's in here?"

"It's not your fault!" Chanyeol exclaims, jostling himself and putting himself in pain. Sehun scolds him instantly.

"Chanyeol, don't move! The nurses told you to lie as still as possible." He says, the look on his face making Kyungsoo and the others feel like intruders. They stand in the doorway as their bickering unfolds, unsure whether they should move in and sit on the cheap, uncomfortable seats, or just wait until they're done.

"But that's so boring ." Chanyeol whines, somehow managing to pout despite all the burns.

"It's for your own good." Sehun insists, "I don't want you hurting more than you need to." He directs his attention to the new occupants, at last. "Please don't agitate him too much, ok?"

"Sehun." Chanyeol sends him a meaningful look.

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry." Sehun slumps down, dejected.

"Anyway. What are you guys doing here?" Chanyeol repeats, looking them up and down, "and why haven't you brought me anything? I thought you were supposed to bring invalids, gifts when you come to see them."

"I'm sorry, we kinda rushed over here, we'll bring something next time." Jongdae promises, holding his hands up, placating, "what do you want, fruit?"

"No, I want candy. My mum already said she'd bring me fruit." Chanyeol says, shifting eagerly, "can I request specific ones? I want those spicy chocolate thingies and those really sour ones! I think they're called Disasters? And the ones where they change colour when you them, and-"

"Ok, ok, we'll get you an assortment of candy." Jongdae laughs, moving in closer to sit on Chanyeol's other side, "how are you feeling?"

"Terrible." Chanyeol says, beaming brightly. Kyungsoo has known him for long enough to see the tightness around his eyes, making it obvious how much he is concealing his pain.

"That's… not good."

"It's not, but apparently I can get more skin grafts soon, which will help the healing process."

"'More'?" Jongdae echoes, taken aback.

"Yeah, when I first got here, during the surgery to get the broken gun bits out of me, they did some on the worst bits of the burns-look," he pushes aside his hospital gown so that they can see a pale section of skin, grafted across his chest, “it came from my .” He says proudly, “cool, huh?”

"Uh, yeah." Kyungsoo smiles a wobbly smile, trying not to look too long, so it doesn't get imprinted in his memory. Fake blood and gore in horror movies is fine, laughable even, but real stuff makes him feel ill. Jongdae looks like he's in pain as well just from looking at the damage.

"What are they planning to do next?" Jongin asks, interested. Of course he would be. Even if he’s just putting it on to make Chanyeol feel better.

"They're going to do more of the ones on my neck and shoulders. Then they're going to grow some new skin using a restoration spell or something. I'm a bit foggy on the details. They had to use skin already available because it was an emergency, but I think there are cosmetic restoration spells or something I could get to improve things? I'm not really sure."

"Is it less painful on the grafted bits?" Jongin moves in a bit closer to see it up close. Kyungsoo catches Sehun’s eye over his shoulder and they share a look of exasperation.

"It's tender and really sore, but it doesn't feel like it's still burning like the rest of it." He says, "I have a fancy antibiotic or whatever cream which I have to put on like, every hour."

"Does that help?"

"Well, it stops it from drying out and numbs some of the pain, so yeah." Chanyeol tries to shrug and winces. Sehun scowls at him.

"How long do you have to stay here?" Jongdae asks, wringing his hands together.

"Uhhh, my next operation is scheduled for a week? Then I have to make sure that I heal properly. The doctors said I’m stuck here a month, max, unless I have complications."

"If it's any consolation," Jongin begins, "you looked really cool out there. When you deflected the lightning with your bare hands? That was incredible ." Chanyeol beams at him.

"Have you seen any videos of it? Surely someone must have been recording." Chanyeol asks, curious. Sehun doesn't look very impressed. He must have a very different set of feeling towards it, having been held back as he watched him almost get killed. Kyungsoo isn’t sure he wants to relive the situation either.

"I don't know, is there internet here?" Jongin pulls out his phone, "I'll look it up for you."

"Awesome." Chanyeol smiles. How he's still so optimistic about this, Kyungsoo doesn't know, but it tugs at his heartstrings.

“There is internet, but it’s ty-” Sehun replies, “I saw your messages, Jongdae, I wanted to respond but when I got home last night I passed out, and then I got caught up today-”

“It’s alright.” Jongdae says, his smile pitying. It’s been a busy few days.

While Jongin finds a decent video, Chanyeol explains his operation bit more in detail, which has Kyungsoo wrinkling his nose, and Jongin sniggering at his reaction.

"I have a question." Kyungsoo changes the subject, pulling a plastic chair from the other side of the room, finally, "how bad is this going to affect your exams? Aren't they in, like, two weeks?" Chanyeol's face drops.

"Oh, yeah. I had forgotten about that. I guess I'll need to call the office and see what I can do. I think you can sit exams in the hospital, right?" He asks, but Kyungsoo doesn't know and can only shrug. Chanyeol stares pensively at his burnt, scarred fingers.

"Look, I found one!" Jongin exclaims, "it's a bit shaky and I think it was taken from behind some people, but look-" He holds it up so Chanyeol can see. Kyungsoo leans over so he can see, he had been otherwise occupied at that time, so he didn't see any of this as it happened. His mouth falls open.

In the grainy video, he can see Chanyeol's dark back, his hands glowing with liquid fire. He looks so scared, even from this distance, even without seeing his face, but then he seems to square up, straightening his shoulders. A Hanjurian terrorist raises their gun, aiming at him and Chanyeol raises his hands defensively.

"I was trying to tell them that they didn't need to hurt anyone, but I don't think they could even understand me." He whispers.

The screen explodes in white-blue light, blocking out everything for a second and when it dies down, Chanyeol is on the ground, a little ways back from where he started.

"The video is a bit disappointing," Jongin says, "it was incredible, they shot lightning at him and he just... he just sort of grabbed it and threw it aside? I've never seen anything like it."

"I had this grand idea that I was going to throw it back at them, but it hurt more than I expected, so I panicked and let it go wrong." Chanyeol chuckles bashfully.

The Chanyeol in the video tries to scramble away from an approaching terrorist and recasts the fire spell on his gloves, trying to push away the gun. Kyungsoo had seen this part and he knows what's coming. He looks at Jongdae instead, who is as white as a sheet. He's already heard this stuff relayed to him, but it's not the same as seeing it. The sound of the explosion on Jongin's phone is muffled and doesn't really do it justice. The vibrations had made him almost misdraw the spell.

"I'm honestly surprised I'm even alive, right now." Chanyeol shakes his head, awed.

"What happened there?" Jongdae asks, voice small.

"I melted the end of the gun and blocked it off. When he fired it, the whole thing exploded."

"It was terrifying. I thought I'd lost him." Sehun mumbles, eyes glistening with tears. Chanyeol squeezes his hand.

"I'm sorry."

"You're not forgiven yet." Sehun pouts, "I'm not forgiving you until you heal up properly." At this, Chanyeol sticks out his lower lip, pitifully. Kyungsoo gets the distinct impression that this isn't the first time this has come up.

"Don't you think I was brave?" He wheedles.

"More like stupid." Sehun scoffs, looking away.

"But Sehunnie~. I’m a viral internet star now." He blinks cutely, a look difficult to pull off with most of his face covered with horrific burn marks. Somehow, he manages and Kyungsoo thinks that's a testament to the young man's natural charm.

Jongdae is still staring uncomfortably at Chanyeol's wounds. Kyungsoo nudges his leg with his foot.

"It really isn't your fault." He says lowly, not wanting Chanyeol to hear him, not that he's likely to, as Jongin continues to regale him with compliments to cheer him up. Jongdae shrugs.

"How was your spell, today?" He asks, changing the subject. Kyungsoo wrinkles his nose.

"I think we're onto something now." Kyungsoo says, "because Jongin wasn't formally taught how to do spellwork, he pointed something out that could be a game changer. It's so simple, I feel stupid for not having thought of it myself."

"That's good news." Jongdae tries to sound happy for him, but it sounds forced. Kyungsoo sympathises.

"It is. Hopefully, we can get this spell functioning before anything else like this happens." He says firmly. They can't not . Just looking at Chanyeol is a testament to the fact that they're in desperate need of this spell, not to mention all the other people that have been hurt or killed thus far.

They stay in the hospital room, talking about this and that, for about an hour and a half. A nurse sticks their head around the door, warning them that visiting hours will be over soon. They all agree that they might as well go home and get some rest, since they have work the next day. Sehun stays a few minutes longer, knowing that he's going to get kicked out but wanting to spend a few more minutes with his boyfriend alone. Chanyeol calls after them as they leave,

"Goodbye!! Next time I see you, you better have the candy! Don't forget!" He stares at them intently.

"Of course we won't forget!" Jongdae says, "we'll get you so much that we'll have to split it between us to sneak it in here, how does that sound?"

"Perfect." Chanyeol grins, all teeth.

All three of them wave at them, before closing the door. Jongdae seems to sag with relief.

"He seems like he's going to be ok." He says at last.

"Of course he will be." Jongin says, slinging one arm over his shoulder. Kyungsoo follows suite, snaking an arm around Jongdae's waist so he's sandwiched between them while they walk.

"Hey, this isn't right. I should be the one comforting you guys." Jongdae says, sounding a little choked up.

"You know what." Kyungsoo teases, pulling away, "you're right. Where are my consolatory hugs? Do we get a basket of gifts? Huh?"

"Don't push your luck." Jongdae sticks his tongue out, "you may have saved hundreds of citizens, but don't think for a second that that means you're worthy of a candy bar."

Kyungsoo is sat cross-legged on his bed, going through his notes again. His bedroom door is open, and he can hear Jongin pottering around doing something in the living room. Although things are starting to fall into place, there's still lots of behind the scenes work that needs to be done. He writes something down, then crosses it out when he realises he's already made that observation before. Ugh, progress is slow this evening. They made a decent amount of headway during the day, but he's not getting anywhere right now. He's going to get forehead wrinkles at this rate.

"Kyungsoo?" Jongin calls through, popping his head around the door frame, "have you eaten anything yet?" Kyungsoo rubs his eyes, and looks up blearily, shaking his head.

"I'll eat in a minute, I just want to finish this." Kyungsoo mumbles, turning back to the paper at hand. Jongin purses his lips, but lets him carry on. Kyungsoo knows he'll be back in a few minutes if he doesn't make an appearance soon, so he writes down what he's working on, and hops off his bed, making sure not to disturb or crinkle the sheets of paper as he does so.

Jongin scanning the fridge for something to eat- when he first moved in, Kyungsoo gave him the bottom two shelves to use, but somewhere down the line the boundaries blurred, and now they both share all of it.

"Did you have something in mind?" Kyungsoo asks, nudging Jongin to the side so he can look too. "How about curry? We have meat."

"But we have barely any vegetables." Jongin says.

"I have a jar of pre-made sauce in the cupboard, and there's onions, it will be fine." Kyungsoo says, pulling a few things out onto the countertop.

"If you say so." Jongin snorts.

"Alright, if 'whatever curry' isn't good enough for you, you can go hungry." Kyungsoo snaps, regretting it a second later, "sorry. I didn't mean that."

"It's ok. I take it you're stressing yourself out, in there?" He inclines his head towards Kyungsoo's bedroom. "Maybe you should bring it out here to work on it, I could give you a hand."

"Hm. Maybe." Kyungsoo considers it. It is getting tiresome, hiding away in his room all the time, but Jongin is too good at distracting him. "Can you get down the cooking pot?"

"Of course, babe." Jongin hums, reaching up into the highest cupboard. Kyungsoo snorts.

"Since when were we using pet names? Should I call you kitten?"

"That's offensive." Jongin pouts, placing the retrieved pot on the stove, ready.

"Why? You're calling me babe, which is the young version of human, kitten is the young version of a cat?"

"I don't really like having my status as a were-cat pointed out like that. I was pretty young when I found out that were-animals are a category of , and it kind of weirds me out."

"Oh. Did I make you uncomfortable asking to your ears that one time? I didn't think of that, I'm really sorry-"

"No, it's ok. You didn't know." Jongin closes in behind him, slipping his arms around his waist and tucking his head into his neck. His hot breath against Kyungsoo's skin makes him fumble with the knife for a moment, but he manages to avoid making a fool of himself. He thinks back to the first morning they shared together- how he had imagined this very scenario, and flushes to the roots of his hair.

"W-what should I call you then?"

"Anything you like that's not kitten." Jongin says. Kyungsoo can physically feel his voice, the vibrations making his spine tingle. He shivers.

"Duckie?"

"No. What is it with you and animals?"

“Sooo… I’m guessing you won’t like ‘teddy bear’ either, then?”

“You guessed right.” Jongin says, holding back a laugh.

“How about…..pudding?” Kyungsoo ponders, sidestepping so he can deposit the chopped onions into the pot.

“So we’re moving onto foods, now?”

“Yes. Keep up, my lil yogurt cup.” Jongin snorts, laughing so hard he has to let Kyungsoo go. Kyungsoo just watches, grinning widely. It feels nice to have made Jongin so happy.

It only takes four days of work before they start seeing results from Jongin's idea. It isn't immediate and not even a dramatic change, but the slight tweaks make the spell more cohesive as a whole. Kyungsoo goes into work each morning now with excitement bubbling inside him; any day now could be the day they finally make it work!

The prospect of it being completed brings Kyungsoo onto the next phase of the project, which he hadn't thought about very much before: once it's completed, it will need to go through rigorous tests, to see just how much it can withstand. If it can't stand up to the heat of battle, it will need to come back for reworking, but that's unlikely, given the nature of the spell. New ones have to be shared back and forth several times, but since this is an old one, Kyungsoo is 75% sure that it will be fine.

True to Jongdae's word, all three of them pitched in to buy Chanyeol as much candy and chocolate that they thought he could handle and visited him again. This time, he had a selection of 'get well soon' cards on the bedside table, along with a fancy basket of fruit and what Kyungsoo assumed to be some of his personal belongings. Sehun had probably brought them in for him. Chanyeol had been so excited to open the plastic bag that a nurse actually came in to see what all the commotion was about. The silly boy had frozen, like a deer caught in the headlights, but the nurse had pressed their finger to their lips and promised to keep it a secret.

It feels like just another normal day at work today. Sure it's drizzling, and the weather is getting colder, but seeing Jongin with his hair wet from the rain is adorable. He feels good about their progress at the moment.

"You had the option to use both an umbrella and coat with a hood, but you chose not to." Kyungsoo reminds him, trying not to laugh at the bedraggled man. His hair sticks to his forehead and his ears lay flat on his head. He looks downright miserable.

"I didn't think it would be this bad!" Jongin complains, dabbing at his hair with his already sodden sleeve, and making not a of difference. He peels himself out of his jacket and Kyungsoo wishes he wasn't wearing a sheer, white shirt today, because it's not exactly doing wonders for his sanity. With his mental state in a better place now, Kyungsoo is finding himself thinking more and more about Jongin in this way. His showers take longer than usual, and he’s not sure if Jongin has caught on as to why, just yet.

"I told you-" Kyungsoo begins, only to be cut off.

"I know, I know." Jongin tips his head back and moans, Kyungsoo tries not to see the sensuality of the move. "I might go dry off a bit in the bathroom before we get started, that ok?" He asks, looking back at Kyungsoo. He gulps.

"Sure." It will give him time to refocus on persuading himself that despite the progress they're making, they really don't have the time for Kyungsoo to start kissing him out of nowhere.

"Alright, I'll be back in a little while then." He announces, hanging up his soaked jacket and leaving. Kyungsoo watches him go and sags into his chair afterwards, sighing. Preparing for the day of research and testing they have ahead, Kyungsoo pulls out his workbook and all of the notes that he and Jongin collaboratively made.

Chanyeol's second operation is scheduled for this afternoon, he recalls. He had seemed a bit nervous about it, but Jongin and Sehun spent a full twenty minutes regaling him with reminders that if he can stand up to Hanjurian soldiers, then he can handle an operation that he won't even be awake for. Kyungsoo hopes it goes well.

Twenty minutes later, Jongin returns, dry and happy.

"You ready to get started?" He says, pulling up a chair. Kyungsoo smiles and nods.

"I'm picking up where we left off yesterday, you try tweaking this one." Kyungsoo points at the avenue he wants Jongin to take.

It's not long before he picks up one of the ink pens and begins to draw out the spell, carefully looking back to check that he's following the instructions correctly. Kyungsoo sneaks looks at him while he works, his gaze following the line of his long fingers all the way up to the elegant column of his neck. Jongin clears his throat, as if he can feel Kyungsoo looking and he stiffens up, turning back to his work instantly. He feels like a high-schooler, staring at his crush. Except, he's pretty sure that he graduated from crush to in love a long time ago. He clenches his fists, exasperated with himself; this isn’t the time for this!

With great difficulty, Kyungsoo forces himself to finish the spell he's working on and by the time he's halfway through the second one, he's hit his rhythm. The plan is to actually cast these in the afternoon, when they have a handful to do, then spend the rest of the afternoon evaluating what went wrong in each of them. During lunch, Kyungsoo eats his meal quickly and learns that Sehun has already sent Jongdae a message about Chanyeol's operation, and Jongdae is eager to show them. It's a selfie of him pulling a face next to Chanyeol's unconscious body, about to go into the surgery, only showing half of Sehun's face.

"He always takes his selfies like that. Every time Chanyeol shows me pictures of him, it's only a bit of his face." Joonmyeon comments, looking confused, "why doesn't he just get his whole face in there?"

"It's his artistic take on… something." Jongdae shrugs, "I don't know, but if you want to ask him, be my guest. Maybe wait until his boyfriend is out of the hospital safe first, though. He seems like the type to take it personally." Joonmyeon rolls his eyes, smiling.

"I just don't understand kids these days."

"Joonmyeon… you're only thirty." Kyungsoo stares at him in disbelief. The man sticks out his tongue at them, teasingly.

"I’m thirty six. I know, I'm old." He says, in a wheezy voice, "I just don't understand this generation anymore."

"You need to get an Celestegram account." Jongdae says, "I have one, even if I don't use it very much. Sehun posts a lot on there. Chanyeol does as well."

"I've never heard of this." Joonmyeon looks at him, clueless. Kyungsoo knows it, but he doesn't have one.

"Oh! My sister has one of those!" Jongin exclaims excitedly, "she posts pictures of my niece on there, she's so cute! Lemme show you!" He excitedly pulls out his phone, "I don't have an account, but I save all the pictures she sends me. Look, she's adorable, right?" He shows everyone a picture of a tiny girl, playing peek-a-boo behind a blanket. Kyungsoo doesn't like kids that much, but even he has to admit that she's really cute. There's a picture of the same girl with a huge bow on her head, and another of her eating what looks like chocolate cake, maybe for her birthday? The last one is of Jongin holding her, blowing a raspberry on her cheek, while she giggles hysterically. Kyungsoo's heart melts.

"You'd make a great dad." Jongdae comments, slyly eyeing Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo scowls at him, not wanting to reveal that he completely agrees.

"Ohh, you think so?" Jongin smiles bashfully, cheeks colouring a little.

"Yeah I do." Jongdae enthuses, grinning gleefully, "would you ever settle down with anyone?"

"Uh… Yeah?" Jongin shrugs, face now a burning red. Kyungsoo wants to dive in and save him from embarrassment, but that wouldn't help at all. It’s not like they’re really keeping anything a secret anymore, but he doesn’t want to reveal anything in the middle of the cafeteria, especially not when Jongdae is going to be loud about it.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, no reason." Jongdae says airily, "no reason at all."

"Oookayy?" Jongin slowly pulls his phone away, and locks the screen, "anyway, we should probably get back to work." Kyungsoo feels like he's raised him well.

"You sure you don't want to stay a few minutes longer?" Kyungsoo says, "next he'll start asking you questions about your life." The moment he realises what he's just alluded to, he can feel himself turning crimson too. The only event he could be referring to, that Kyungsoo knows of at least, is that night.

"No. I think we should go." Jongin is already standing up, but Jongdae looks like the cat who got the cream, his eyes literally sparkling. Even Joonmyeon looks interested.

"Oh, no- I want to hear more about this." Jongdae says, raising his voice as Jongin and Kyungsoo walk away, "hey! Get back here and tell me about your life!"

Kyungsoo has never been so desperate to close a door in someone's face before.

The pair of them are totally silent until they reach the elevator, before Kyungsoo can’t hold it in anymore, and start laughing. Jongin watches amused, but he’s clearly holding himself back.

“We should probably tell them soon, huh?” Kyungsoo says.

“Don’t you want to wait until we actually have a life, before we start spilling details like that?” Jongin teases.

“Jongin! Not at work.” Scolds Kyungsoo. Their affection so far as been, for the most part, limited to cutesy wake-up forehead kisses, and lots of hugging. Kyungsoo can understand that he might want more; he does too.

“I know, I know.” Jongin singsongs, as they enter their floor. “But yeah, we should tell them.”

“Any idea how?” Kyungsoo muses, wondering how to break it to Jongdae so that he doesn’t make fun of them.

“Just...tell them? Not everything has to be difficult.” Jongin says, “you like to make things more complicated than they need to be.”

“I guess. Next time we get the chance, then?” Jongin smiles, placing a quick kiss on his lips.

“Yeah. Alright." Jongin sighs, leaning his hands against the table, "let's get back to it, then, huh? Which one should we start with?"

"Uhh." Kyungsoo looks around dumbly and points to the one on the top of the pile, "this one?"

"Yeah. Ok." Jongin stands on the other side of Kyungsoo's desk and places his palms on the paper, his fingertips touching the edge of the circle.

They catch each other's eyes, but the look only lasts an instant. Time and a place, Kyungsoo tells himself. He rolls his shoulders, squaring himself up to start casting this spell. Shutting his eyes, he lets his magic flow through him, bubbling and vibrant. It activates, but doesn't cast. As usual. Some of the lines and directions still need tweaking so, Kyungsoo continues to push magic into it, despite it being resistant, to see if he can feel out where the problem lies. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. Today he can sense that it's failing in one of the final stages of the spell, more to do with what the spell protects from. They already nailed what it sticks to, and the energy source, almost a week ago now. It's exciting, having things improve this quickly.

The spell fails like Kyungsoo had fully expected it to, but they learned more at least. He is already hastily scribbling annotations to remind him of what worked, and where they could improve. Jongin tugs on the corner of the spell underneath, and Kyungsoo raises his pen for a moment to let him slide it out; but is back to writing furiously the moment it's gone. He scratches his head with the other end of the pen: what if they pulled back the line connecting the second source to the adhesion so it didn't run so close to the adhesion? They could try that later. He makes a note of it and grabs a highlighter from his pen-pot, circling it in luminescent yellow.

"Next one?" He asks, when he's finished. Jongin nods, already waiting for him. Kyungsoo smiles, slapping his hands down and closing his eyes. This one doesn't work either, but it solidifies his idea from earlier. They cast the other spells that they made up that morning, but once they're done, Kyungsoo is desperate to test out this new idea. He ignores Jongin’s warning that he's going to exhaust himself again; he needs to know if this helps things or makes it worse. Jongin sits sideways on his seat, silently watching Kyungsoo draw the final spell of the day. Or at least, it will be if Jongin has anything to say about it. It's a little distracting, having his attention on him, but he tunes it out so he doesn't make silly mistakes.

He feels good about this one. Even if it isn't The One , this could narrow it down enough for them to finish the spell within days. Days! Kyungsoo almost feels sad that it's ending, but he can't let himself get carried away. He has to actually make sure it works, first.

Adding the final touches, Kyungsoo holds it out in front of him, fanning it with his hand so it will dry quicker.

"Looks good to me." Jongin says, impressed. Kyungsoo looks over it critically. The spell looks so completely different to its predecessor, and honestly, it looks a little messy. The lines crisscross like a spiderweb, but that's nothing they can't fix given a little more time.

"Ready to try it?" Kyungsoo asks softly. Jongin nods and stands up, laying his hands out. Kyungsoo likes how much of a routine this has become.

He breathes out through his nose, having to push to get the energy to leave his body this time round. He keeps pushing.

It doesn't stop. The spell doesn't halt awkwardly, or cause a blockage.

"Kyungsoo!" Jongin shouts. Kyungsoo opens his eyes.

The first thing he sees is Jongin eyes, wide from elation. He stares back at him stupidly, mouth wide open, before something in his brain turns on. It isn't very clear what he's looking at, at first: the barrier itself is difficult to see, but when he tilts his head he can see the hazy, almost glow, of the barrier. It's small, due to the restriction spells built into the building itself, but definitely there.

Kyungsoo blinks twice, processing the information.

It's working. He was right. The spell works !

He lets out a sound that is somewhere between a laugh and a whoop, and takes his hands away from the spell in favour of running them through his hair. Is he crying? He might be crying. He feels euphoric and his hands are shaking. Jongin is laughing from sheer disbelief as he rounds the table, hands falling heavily on Kyungsoo's shoulders.

"Yes!" He whispers shouts, "YES!" He shouts a little louder, bouncing on his toes. He reaches up, taking hold of Jongin's head and pulling him closer so that their mouths meet in the middle, as he stands on his toes. Jongin freezes for a second, before melting against him, wrapping him in his arms. Kyungsoo pulls away, and Jongin's eyes flutter open, his lips just barely parted. He looks shocked, but not for long- he ducks down for another kiss, humming softly.

“Congratulations.” He murmurs, swinging Kyungsoo from side to side. Kyungsoo wriggles away from him, hardly able to stand still, and paces back and forth excitedly. They've done it! He lets out a sharp breath, not sure what to do with his hands now that he's not holding onto Jongin. He musses up his own hair, laughing breathily.

"What now?" Jongin asks, watching him wander back and forth with mirth. Kyungsoo bites his lip, mind running through the process of finalising the spell design. They still need to check it over a few times, to make absolutely sure that there's no way it could go wrong. Then he'll have to report his progress to his boss. He shivers, anticipating writing a report that's no longer 'nothing to report' or just minimal progress.

After that, they wait for the green light to take the spell down to the testing arena, outside of the main city itself. Kyungsoo has only been there once, when he first got the job; it's not really anything more than a huge expanse of dirt land, burnt and charred from being used so often to test all kinds of offensive magic.

He explains all of this to Jongin, who listens intently.

"So it isn't all over, just like that?" He purses his lips.

"Well, we still need to do a few more things, yeah." He says, "I think we should report this as soon as possible, though."

"How do we do that?" Jongin asks, "is there a form we need to fill in?"

"I'll send off an email, let me just get it up on my laptop." Kyungsoo raises the lid of his computer, fingers feverish as he waits for everything to load. It feels like the machine is operating slowly on purpose to keep him waiting. He looks up at Jongin and wishes he hadn't, the man is looking at Kyungsoo in a way that has him blushing to the roots of his hair. He ducks his head, and clicks on his work email icon, ignoring the heat creeping over his body.

His message to his boss is concise:

To Mr. Kim

The abjuration spell is functional. Requesting permission for access to testing grounds asap.

Regards, Do Kyungsoo.

"There." Kyungsoo hits the send button with a flourish, and wishes that his chair could spin, because if it was, he would go wild . "Sent."

Jongin's expression is one of fondness. "We really did it." he says again, softly. Jongin nods.

"I can't wait to tell Jongdae. He'll insist that we go out for drinks again to celebrate." He bites his lip, exaggeratedly. In too good of a mood to rise to the bait that Jongin is clearly setting, Kyungsoo clears his throat.

"I'd be up for it.." He says, causing Jongin to raise his eyebrows.

"Really?" He leans back, folding his arms across his chest, "success changes a person, I guess."

"Don't you feel like a new person?" Kyungsoo asks, all these rapid mood switches suddenly catching up on him, leaving him feeling drained but still happy. Like he just got of a fairground ride- if he tried to walk now, he might stumble, but he'd still be laughing all the same.

"I guess so." Jongin nods, considering this, "this whole job was kind of a learning experience. I'm glad I could help out and say I had a hand in keeping our country safe. I never really considered myself patriotic before, but I feel that now."

"It's good, huh?" He's never had the high of a job well done quite feel this good, likely because he's never worked on a single job for this long before. Kyungsoo sighs happily, glancing back at the finished, probably fully functional spell.

His computer pings and his phone vibrates in his pocket at the same time, which means he's received a new message. A reply so soon? Kyungsoo is flattered, they must have his email on high priority list.

"What does it say?" Jongin leans in closer to get a better look, resting his chin on Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

The reply is also short and to the point.

To Mr. Do Kyungsoo

Morning slots are booked for you this coming Thursday and the following Friday, from 9:30-12.

Sincerely,

Mr Kim

Kyungsoo quickly types out a thank you response, biting his lip as he does so.

So soon? That's only two days away. He can't believe it. Usually there's a waiting list of several weeks, he hopes that he isn't pushing aside anything important, or that he isn't going to create some bad blood within the department for this.

He looks up to see Jongin putting his phone into his pocket. He wouldn't have otherwise questioned it, but about two minutes later, what seems like the entire Department of Experimental Magic is crowding into his room, headed by Jongdae. What the hell? Kyungsoo casts Jongin a look, who only shrugs sheepishly.

"Kyungsoo!" Jongdae bounds over to him, picking him up in a bear hug, "I'm so happy for you!"

"Yeah, congratulations!" Joonmyeon adds behind him. “Uhh?” Kyungsoo is tongue tied. Soon he is caught up in a whirlpool of co-workers, all wanting to give him their congratulations. He shakes at least ten hands- how many people are in Jongdae's department?! Surely all these people are from other departments as well?

Almost all of them express their concern at how much better he looks than before; apparently everyone had been watching him stress out from afar. He's kind of touched that so many people even noticed him.

"Drinks tonight! First round on me!" Jongdae yells, to the cheers of everyone in the room, except Kyungsoo who is still a bit overwhelmed. A hand on his arm make him jump, but it's just Jongin. He feels a little more grounded now.

"Alright!" Jongin calls out above the hubbub, "get back to your own department now, we still have to do!" His announcement it met with a ripple of laughter, and it takes a few minutes for everyone to finally trickle out, except for Jongdae. He perches on the edge of Kyungsoo's desk, Jongin's is too rickety to put much weight on.

"Seriously, I'm so impressed. I thought you'd never get that thing finished." He shakes his head, staring between them considerately, "it looks like a piece of , but as long as it works, I guess that's all that matters." Jongdae meant it humorously, but they had to agree that it does look a little like chicken scratch.

"It's still got some refining to go through." Kyungsoo defends. Jongdae nods.

"A lot of refining." He agrees, "I don't know if that will ever look as tidy as a military grade spell, though."

"It doesn't have to, really." Kyungsoo says. It doesn't , but he wishes it was nicer to look at. Tidy, neat looking spells are a point of pride in spell maker's communities. It makes them easier to redraw if they aren't lopsided, asymmetrical scrawling messes. Jongdae purses his lips, as if to say 'whatever you want to believe' and gets down from the table.

"Well." He says, looking between the both of them, "I have work to be doing, but I'll see you when we leave. Shall we all meet up in the foyer and walk together?"

"Yeah, sure." Kyungsoo agrees easily. He's already excited.

"Same place as last time? Or somewhere different." Jongin asks, "I still haven't seen much of the city's nightlife."

"Somewhere new, then, I think. How about a club?" He leers at them, eyebrows wiggling.

"How about no." Kyungsoo forms a cross with his arms, "I don't want to pay extortionate amounts for cocktails. Plus, we both know what you're like when you get on a dance floor."

"Fair point. I'll think about it then. See you later!" He mock salutes them as he leaves.

“Oh wait!” Kyungsoo says, grabbing Jongin’s hand as he recalls their decision from earlier. Jongdae pauses in the doorway, zoning in on their linked hands. He raises one eyebrow, a slow, gleeful, grin rising on his face.

“We have something to tell you,” Kyungsoo announces shyly, waiting for Jongdae to start gloating. To his surprise, he just smiles softly.

“It’s about time,” he murmurs, “I’m happy for you guys. Hey, this gives us another reason to celebrate tonight!”

“Can we not make a huge fuss about this?” Kyungsoo requests.

“What, so you don’t want me to bring party hats? Just kidding, I’m not ready to die.” He pretends to zip his lips together, then mock salutes them again before he leaves for real.

“See? Quick and painless, huh?” Jongin says, once it’s quiet. Kyungsoo sticks his tongue out at him.

"This is all happening so fast." Jongin observes, "soon it will be ready for field use. That's so cool." He beams and suddenly, all Kyungsoo can think of is how beautiful he is. He blinks rapidly, shaking his head.

"We still have more to do before that."

"Can't we take it easy for the rest of the day?" Jongin pouts. How on earth does a grown man manage to make that look cute? "We're already tired from casting, and you don't want to be exhausted for tonight, right?" He nudges him playfully until he relents.

"Ok, fine." He rolls his eyes, "what do you propose we do instead?"

This seems to throw him for a loop, but he recovers quickly.

"We can just watch videos on your laptop? Ooh! I know; we could start watching that Galaxy child thing that Sehun recommended?" Kyungsoo stares at him deadpan, but that actually isn't too bad an idea. “We don’t have anything else important to do until Friday~” He sings. Kyungsoo chews on the inside of his cheek and decides that, for today, the pros outweigh the cons.

Kyungsoo wakes up with a headache, and shivering from cold. Last night had been pretty wild; as a group effort, Kyungsoo had been persuaded to go to a club. Jongin had sweet-talked him into it, reminding him that they technically didn't have to go in today, since they were just waiting on testing now. Although Kyungsoo normally doesn't along with clubs, he actually had a great time. Flashes slowly come back to him, thought they all blend in together after a certain point. Jongdae had taken his shirt off, and sent videos of himself screaming to Chanyeol, so there's his reaction to look forward to. He groggily fast-forwards through what else he remembers and hums; well, everyone probably knows about Jongin and Kyungsoo now, with all the time they spent dancing on eachother.

He looks at the clock on the bedside table. It's nearly ten in the morning; he'll give himself an hour, and maybe head in to do some refining work with Jongin for the afternoon. He can snooze for a bit longer. It's no rush.

He groans, groping for his blankets, but they're unmovable.

"What the...?" He mumbles, rolling over, and coming face to face with Jongin. Oh, yeah. Neither Jongin nor Kyungsoo had had to buy a drink all night, which led to them being so drunk they could barely see when they left. They had gotten in at about three in the morning, and Kyungsoo had dragged Jongin into bed with him. They'd been too drunk to do much more than make out, and had ended up falling asleep together.

This explains why he's so cold, though. Jongin has nested amongst all the cushions and blankets, curled up with only tufts of hair and his ears poking out. He had been trying to think of a way to ask Jongin to start sleeping here with him permanently, and not out in the sofa-nest, but if he's going to wake up like this every morning...

"Jongin." He whines, trying to tug some of the material out from underneath him. His efforts rouse his boyfriend, who wriggles further into his warm nest, muffled complaints emanating from where his head is. "Jongin, it's cold out here."

There's a moment where Jongin flops like a fish, making the mattress bounce and allowing Kyungsoo to unravel the blankets from around him. Kyungsoo grumbles, and shimmies underneath, gasping when Jongin latches onto him like a cat searching for sunlight. He very nearly smothers him, hands everywhere and legs tangling up in his.

"Good morning to you, too." Kyungsoo says sarcastically.

"Morning." Comes Jongin's reply, spoken into Kyungsoo's chest. It tickles. Kyungsoo doesn't think he'll be able to get back to sleep, now.

"How are you feeling?" Kyungsoo asks, quietly, so as not to aggravate Jongin's poor ears. If it sounds loud to him, it's almost certainly worse for Jongin. He mumbles something indistinct, and Kyungsoo hums sympathetically. He wants to run his hands through Jongin's hair, maybe massage him or something, but his arms are pinned to his side. Jongin is using him as a glorified teddy bear.

"Do you want me to get some water? Painkillers?" Jongin shakes his head.

"Jus' want you to stay here and let me hold you."

"Alright." Kyungsoo smiles; Jongin is so cute like this. "I think I can do that for you, honey muffin." Jongin whines at the petname; his game from before had backfired on him, and now Kyungsoo looked for any opportunity to use silly nicknames for him.

"Love you, sugar." He says again, giggling. Jongin grumbles, but returns the sentiment.