Testing field #2 is huge. Kyungsoo remembers thinking so when he first visited, but it feels smaller even in his memory. The place consists of a huge hangar, the kind usually used to store flying vehicles, a small building separate from it, and acres of land stretching out behind them. The ground is dead and brown from all the spells that have been cast here, no sign of grass anywhere beyond the tall chain-link fences. It's so remote that they had to take a shuttle bus arranged by the department admin; apparently they have one each morning, one at midday, and one in the afternoon. As they drive by, Kyungsoo catches glimpses of bright yellow signs, warning of certain danger if they trespass.

They are dropped off in an almost empty car park outside the main hangar, then, as a group, directed towards the huge doors at the far end of the hangar.

"I didn't expect it to be so big ." Jongin comments, looking out at the huge expanse of land. Kyungsoo has to bite his tongue to hold back the immature 'that's what he said' joke. Not with people around. Jongin side eyes him, as if reading his mind, and Kyungsoo pulls a face at him.

He clutches his workbook to his chest, he drew out two copies, each of eight different variants of their spell. There's almost no visible difference difference between them, but it could make or break the casting.

"I can't wait to get in there." Kyungsoo says, buoyed by excitement. He had been bouncing in his seat in the bus, to Jongin's amusement.

"Yeah." Jongin readily agrees, walking faster, "the only time I've ever seen offensive magic up close was when it threatened my life . I'm looking forward to seeing it under... less dangerous circumstances."

"Me too." Kyungsoo agrees, shivering at the thought of the Hanjurians.

"Do you think we'll be allowed to record it? Chanyeol asked me to."

"We can ask." Kyungsoo shrugs. They might be strict on security here.

The doors slide open to let them in, revealing a waiting room and a secretary sat at the front desk.

It all has a very simple feel, like it wasn't designed with comfort in mind, and not given much of a budget anyway. There are two doors, one leading into the main hangar space, and the other presumably goes outside, into the testing grounds itself. When they enter, the secretary stands up to greet them and explain how they do things here. Seated on the cheap-looking seats that line the walls, are about ten, or maybe more, people dressed in protective gear.

Kyungsoo eyes their military grade spell circles on their chests analytically, almost missing some of what the woman is telling them. Actual GeunTo soldiers. Jongin and Kyungsoo's is the morning slot, and they need at least one person to cast the spell, and several more to act as attacking Hanjurians. They will probably be assigned a group of these people to work with.

One of them, the one who looks the youngest, catches Kyungsoo's eye, smirking at him. Embarrassed at being caught, Kyungsoo turns his head and deliberately doesn't look, even when he hears whispering. He catches Jongin sending a sharp look in the kid's direction, and wonders what on earth he could be saying. If they're commenting on Jongin's ears or tail then Kyungsoo will be ready to fight.

The secretary finishes her brief talk, then gestures towards the people waiting against the wall. As if practiced, all of them stand up in perfect synchronisation. The tall woman with red hair, tightly pinned up behind her head, introduces herself as Joy and points out which soldiers are part of her squad. One of the ones she gestures to is the guy who was looking at him earlier. . Why did it have to be him , out of all of the people here? Joy continues on brightly, not having noticed anything amiss. "I'm the main spell- caster, and these guys are going to be blasting your abjuration spell with everything they've got."

The teenager looks him up and down suggestively. Kyungsoo smiles politely back at him, not wanting to encourage him, but also not wanting to come across rude. He's probably a nice guy, he just... really isn't interested. At all. And he looks like he dropped out of school early to join the military, judging by his baby-face.

"Where do we begin?" Jongin asks, standing closer to Kyungsoo than is really necessary. Joy grins, showing off her teeth.

"We'll use the lawn." She inclines her head towards one of the doors, and starts walking.

"The lawn?" Kyungsoo snorts, quickly putting his bag containing their lunch behind the counter, so it doesn’t weigh him down. Jongin sticks close behind as they trail after her, between Kyungsoo and the other magic users.

"It's our little nickname for the testing grounds." She says over her shoulder as she pushes open the door. "Don't you think it suits it?" She laughs, gesturing widely across the dirt terrain. Kyungsoo and Jongin survey the land.

"Was there ever grass here?"

"Yes, but that was before I started working here." She laughs to herself. "We're going to walk out pretty far into the grounds so we have plenty of space to work with. Don't want to damage HQ."

Kyungsoo nods understandingly, and gleefully answers all the questions Joy has about the spell. He explains how big he expects, or at least hopes for, it to be, which means they have to walk farther than Joy originally planned. He occupies himself telling her the details of his spell, and how hard it was to get to this point, drawn in by her bright personality. It's nice to talk to someone who genuinely is interested in abjuration magic, and works with abjuration regularly. She flicks through the pages he's given her, tracing them with her fingertip. Kyungsoo brims with pride.

"Alright, I know this isn't what you want to hear," Joy begins, once they're adequately far from the hangar, "but you have to wait at a safe distance. We're all professionally trained to deal with these situations, and it would be bad if something happened to either of you."

"I'll say." The young soldier chimes in, smirking at Kyungsoo again. Kyungsoo forms his mouth into a straight line.

"Where should we stay here, then?" He asks, looking around. Is there a bunker or something?

"See that bollard thing over there?" She points to the side. "It has a basic abjuration spell on it. You can stay out here and watch if you think you can cast it, but if you can't then-"

"I think we can manage." Jongin interrupts, not rudely. She smiles.

"I thought you'd say that. Right, we’ll try out the first one, and come back afterwards, alright? Let’s go" She her head, leading the rest of her squad further away.

"I don't like that guy." Jongin mumbles, as soon as they're out of earshot. Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow, and Jongin flusters. "He's annoying."

"He's just a dumb kid who joined the army straight outta high school, don't pay him any attention."

"He's older than both of us." Jongin growls. "I can tell."

"Wait, really? How do you know?"

"The vibes he gives off, I can't really explain it."

"Huh." Kyungsoo feels a bit less uncomfortable now he knows he isn't getting hit on by a straight up teenager, but still. He smiles knowing that Jongin is jealous. “Aw, you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“I know that, he just makes me uncomfortable. You didn’t hear what he was saying about you, back in the building.”

“Oh. What was he saying?”

“He was commenting on your .” Jongin says, “I mean, he’s right; you have a great , but I don’t really like hearing other people comment about my boyfriend’s . Not my idea of a fun time.”

“You think I have a great ?” Kyungsoo asks, flushing.

“Have I never told you this before?” Jongin places a finger on his pursed lips, pretending to think hard. “I could have sworn...”

“No, you didn’t.” He moves closer, fully intending to ask him to elaborate on that when Joy interrupts. Kyungsoo can barely hear what she's saying, her words lost to the wind, but luckily Jongin can hear her perfectly.

"She's telling us to start casting now." He explains, placing both hands on the spell. Kyungsoo nods, copying him and letting his energy flow into the circle. This spell is similar to the one he drew during that disastrous date so many weeks ago, and summons a bubble around them that looks almost identical. Joy gives them a thumbs up that Kyungsoo can barely see, before setting a sheet of paper on the ground.

The barrier that forms is huge, so big that the soldiers underestimated how big it would be. Kyungsoo laughs euphorically as Joy breaks it, and waits for them to move back so she can recast with them on the other side. The reduction magic in Kyungsoo's office had kept it so, so much smaller in comparison.

It's perfect! Better than he'd hoped! The diameter is maybe four hundred meters? Kyungsoo can't tell from this distance. But that’s just with one person casting! It will grow depending on how much magic is available- with just two average level magic users it could probably cover a small town with little trouble.

"Now we just wait and hope that it functions as it's supposed to." Jongin says, just as excited as he is. Kyungsoo squints into the distance, trying to get his eyes to focus on what the soldiers are doing. He can't discern who is who from this distance; they're just far enough away that he can't see their faces. His body is alight with nerves, the anticipation killing him.

The sky erupts with fire, orange and red tendrils the clouds and completely obscuring the entirety of the shield. It crawls around the surface, looking for a point of weakness, but doesn't seem to find one. Kyungsoo can feel the heat on his skin even through the barrier. It's like it's alive; Kyungsoo has never seen a spell like this used in real life, a sentient kind of fire. Something else he didn't expect is the sound, like some ancient creature from another dimension, roaring wordlessly. Kyungsoo is rooted to the spot, mouth gaping, the fire reflected in his eyes.

How long can he keep pushing this spell? The energy consumption would cause a regular person to have passed out by now, how on earth is he managing this??

The flames fizzle out suddenly, dripping to the ground and setting the floor ablaze. It looked more like he chose to break the spell, rather than him getting tired. He probably could have carried on for longer, if he wanted to, he realises. Fear twists his guts; what if the Hanjurians used that kind of spell? They could decimate entire cities with magic like that.

"Whoa." Jongin breathes, barely audible next to him.

"Yeah." Kyungsoo agrees, not even looking.

"That was the annoying one." Jongin mumbles. Kyungsoo can hear the petulance in his voice. "I guess that's why he was so cocky. He has almost as much raw power as Chanyeol."

"Chanyeol could cast a spell like that?"

"Yeah, no problem. That fire glove spell? It has an extremely inefficient flow. He's still working on that." He informs him. Kyungsoo raises his eyebrows. No wonder he was so out of it afterwards.

Thunder courses through the air, a shockwave rippling the skin of their barrier. Kyungsoo turns sharply towards the source, legs suddenly shaking. He missed it, but it seems like one of them cast another incendiary spell, a large explosion. The wispy remains of smoke drift through the air, but the shield remains untarnished. The second time, he doesn't miss it; a jagged blast rips through the air, igniting the air in blinding white. Spots dance on his retinas when it fades, and he closes his eyes, waiting for it to pass.

"Nothing is weakening it so far." Jongin observes, a hint of hope colouring his tone. Kyungsoo grins, trying to tie down the reckless optimism that's growing. They still have a lot more tests to go through, but Kyungsoo has a good feeling about this.

The next attempt is harder to see, but what's glaringly obvious is that it fails. Using a water jet spell to cut through the barrier is something Kyungsoo hadn't thought to explicitly guard against, but nonetheless, it doesn't work.

There's a pause, a silence in which the soldiers rearrange themselves. Kyungsoo wishes they had done a rundown of what they intended to do and in what order, because waiting is killing him.

The other female soldier besides Joy is knelt to the side. The ground begins to shake, tremors causing the ground to crack and split, hairline chasms spreading from the cast point like spidery arms. The barrier shakes, but there aren't any weaknesses, even from this.

Kyungsoo and Jongin huddle into the pillar, holding tight so they don't fall. The cracks reach nerve wrackingly close to where Jongin and Kyungsoo stand, but the earth stills before it can reach them. As the soldier stands, the ground seems to reassemble, clicking back into place like puzzle pieces.

"Oh my god." Jongin sounds as shaken as he feels, "no ing wonder they made us come all the way out here."

"I know right." Kyungsoo can see the appeal of this kind of magic, now. Both working on the theoretical side of things, like Jongdae and Chanyeol, or wielding it. These soldiers likely don't have that much training in magic theory, but if he were in their shoes, he probably wouldn't care. Having access to that much power would be incredible.

One soldier moves back, both of his hands raised, pointing at the barrier. Kyungsoo squints, preparing himself. Lightning bursts forth from his fingertips, sparks drenching the area around him from the expulsion point, and raining down from the spot that it hits the barrier. It ripples slightly, like the rings on water when it's raining, but doesn't look any more fragile from the abuse.

It's so bright, Kyungsoo can't look for long. He lifts one hand off the spell and covers his eyes just in time for it to finish. Kyungsoo wants to say something, something interesting, but all he can think of is 'wow'. His hands are shaking.

"Is that it?" Jongin asks, voice wobbly. Kyungsoo shrugs, not sure.

"That was amazing." He mumbles, breathless, looking up at Jongin to see his reaction. His gaze is fixated on the barrier, still holding strong after all that. His ears are perked up at high alert, and his eyebrows are low over his eyes.

"Do you think there will be an outright war like this? Like- do you think we'll have to use this?" Jongin asks, meaning their new spell. Kyungsoo purses his lips. On one hand, he doesn't want all of his hard work to be wasted, but his more rational side of him is telling him that he shouldn't wish for another attack. Even if they would be totally safe, hoping for an attack would be terrible of him.

"I don't know." He says, "so far it's only been 'smaller' attacks, but Zhao Ying hates us so much, it wouldn't surprise me if he had more things planned."

"He's messed up." Jongin shakes his head. "I want to say that things can't get any worse, but I know that as soon as I make a statement like that, everything will go to ."

"Yeah." Kyungsoo makes a face. If he knew that his aggression was only fuelling their propensity for offensive and defensive spells, would he stop? Probably not. And after the counter-attack from the GeunTo military on a large town it’s probably stupid not to expect further retaliation. Kyungsoo grits his teeth.

The barrier spell disappears like a popped bubble, shrinking into nothing. Jongin and Kyungsoo drop theirs a moment later, stretching out after being hunched in the same position for so long. In the distance, they can see Joy walking back towards them, followed by the rest of her team, so they head in her direction, aiming to meet somewhere in the middle.

"Hey!" Joy waves them over, half jogging to get within comfortable conversation range. Kyungsoo pointedly avoids looking at the soldier from earlier.

"So, that went pretty well!" Joy informs them. "I'm sure you could tell- that barrier seemed to be functioning perfectly fine. We'll go through all of your other variations, just to make sure, but I started with the one I thought would be the best. It will just be the same thing over and over, so if you want to head back to the lobby at any point, to wait, let me know."

"Oh, ok." Kyungsoo looks at Jongin, who shrugs. "Well. I guess we'll stay out here to watch for a bit longer if that's ok with you? We should keep an eye on what's going on anyway, in case anything goes wrong."

"That's probably for the better." Joy nods thoughtfully.

"Oh yeah- I wanted to ask if it's alright to film here. It's not some secret location is it? I just want to show my friend who's in the hospital some cool magic." Jongin lays his pout on her, and it looks like it's working.

"You shouldn't take photos here, really." She bites her lip, "but as long as I can trust you not to upload it anywhere, it should be fine." Jongin fist pumps like a dork.

"Chanyeol is gonna be so happy!"

"Please don't endanger our work." She says doubtfully, already looking like she regrets her decision.

"Don't worry, I have no intention of that." Jongin raises his hands good naturedly. "Our friend got injured in the last Hanjurian attack, and I thought that seeing some of this stuff might cheer him up a bit."

"Wait, Chanyeol?" The raller soldier interjects, " the crazyhead who almost died protecting people at the subway station? That Chanyeol?"

"His reputation precedes him. Yep, that's the guy." Jongin laughs. “I’ll tell him you think he’s a crazy head.”

"No don’t tell him that. Take as many videos as you like! Tell him we all think he was really brave for doing what he did." The other female soldier gushes.

Jongin grins, "we will, don't worry! Though it might make his head swell up."

"I'm sure we can live with that for a while." Kyungsoo nudges Jongin's arm.

"Doesn't that make you guys the ones who cast the spell, then?" The baby-faced soldier says, looking at Kyungsoo, and Jongin, with a newly appreciative expression.

"Uh, yeah." Jongin says.

"That's really impressive, for a civilian." He says, eyebrows raised. Kyungsoo turns red under the weight of his and the other soldiers' staring until Joy snaps them out of it.

"You only have the morning booked out with us, and we're wasting time here chattering like grandmas."

"Oh, yeah sorry!" Kyungsoo is quick to apologise. "We'll just go back over there then, and let you carry on."

"Thanks. Let's see if we can all of this done before lunch, huh? Let's go!" She claps her hands, and starts jogging back to the safer area, the rest of the team following her. Jongin and Kyungsoo are left standing there for a moment, before Jongin comes back to himself and starts walking back to where they came from. He rests one hand on the small of his back for just long enough to push him in the right direction, then let's it drop. He wants him to put it back, but asking would sound stupid.

"How about I cast the spell this time, that way you can film for Chanyeol?" Kyungsoo suggests, "last time took about fifteen minutes? I can hold a barrier that long by myself, no problem."

Jongin side eyes him. "Alright, but there's eight more after this one, are you sure you're going to be ok?"

"Uh." Kyungsoo frowns. He's going to be exhausted, there's no doubt about that, but he thinks he can pull it off. Jongin is with him, after all; he won't pass out. "Yeah. I'll be fine." Jongin hums, not sounding like he believes him at all, but let's the subject drop.

Kyungsoo places his hands on the circle, waiting for Joy to cast. Jongin makes sure to stand close by; this barrier is a small one.

It begins not a minute later, and Jongin holds his phone up, already recording. This time, it's someone else who casts first, sending a jet stream of molten fire over the dome of the barrier. Kyungsoo wonders if Jongin's little gasp will be heard in the recording.

Even though they have a break mid morning, which was more for the soldiers benefit than anyone else, Kyungsoo is still tired by lunch, when they finish. None of the soldiers look any better than him. Joy's hair is coming out of it's tightly pinned up bun, and all of them are sweaty and exhausted. Despite that, all of them are glowing, like this was just another work-out.

To the irritation of the other researchers who came here, not to mention the driver, they discuss the details of the spell and hold the bus up for a full ten minutes. Joy has the most to say, but even then it's just minor tweaks that may or may not change anything. Kyungsoo drinks it all in like a sponge.

"It's a very solid spell, I'm impressed." She tells him, walking them out of the door to the hangar. The driver honks his horn, impatient.

Just before they exit, Minseok shoves something into Kyungsoo's hand. Confused and in a hurry, Kyungsoo takes it from him without questioning anything as he and Jongin break into a jog to appease those waiting. The pair of them pile onto the bus, out of breath, and apologise to the driver, who grumbles about losing part of his break. Even though he was doing nothing here for hours.

They pick seats in the middle of the bus, and as soon as the driver pulls out of the car park, he's using his thigh to rest the page with the spell on, so he can annotate it with what Joy told him before he forgets. The bumps in the road make his script almost illegible, but he thinks that he'll remember when they get back to work.

Jongin pulls the old takeout boxes containing their lunch out of the bag himself, since Kyungsoo is busy.

“What did that guy give you, by the way?” Jongin asks, trying a little too hard to sound cursory. Kyungsoo had actually forgotten about the little note that he’d shoved into his pocket, in his haste to write everything down. Wordlessly, he digs it out of his pocket and hands it over to Jongin before he loses his train of thought.

“Oh my god.” Jongin snorts, unfurling it. “Wow, this is going to make things awkward tomorrow.”

“What? Why?” Kyungsoo finally looks up, as Jongin turns the paper to show him. A string of numbers and ‘call me? Minseok Xx’ written below it.

“He gave you his number.” Jongin snorts, crumpling up the paper and shoving it between the bus seats. Kyungsoo burns. Oh god, now he’s never going to be able to look that guy in the eye. Why couldn’t he have pulled this stunt tomorrow , when he’d have the option to never see him again?

“I’m not interested in him.” He says, willing Jongin to believe him. Jongin’s eyes soften as he looks at him.

“I know.” He says, hushed in case people overhear. Cheeks a deep shade of red, Kyungsoo turns back to his notes and hopes that Minseok guy is switched out tomorrow.

,Their second session at testing field #2 passes much like their first, except that they get can straight down to business without having to listen to the same spiel as yesterday. Unluckily for Kyungsoo, Minseok the youthful soldier is still there. When they enter, he watches Kyungsoo hopefully, leg bouncing, but Kyungsoo can't meet his eye. Jongin stands protectively between them, orienting himself so that Kyungsoo doesn't have to bear the awkwardness by himself.

As they march into the open space of the grounds, Kyungsoo shows Joy the changes he's made to some of the circles, and the things he'd added later on, after experimenting some more. The changes are so minor that an ordinary person, not trained in the art of spell working, probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them. The tiny tweaks may not make a huge difference, but it's worth it, if it makes the magic flow better in the long run. This spell may have to be held for a very long time, and if pushing or pulling a few lines, or moving a symbol a little in one direction will be easier for the user, then he'll do it.

The same as yesterday, they stop and stay in their shielded area, while the rest of the team heads further afield.

"That could have been worse." Jongin comments, referring to the stale air hanging between him and the soldier who keeps flirting with him. Kyungsoo grimaces.

"I just hope he doesn't try to talk to me privately before we leave, I haven't had to turn anyone down in forever."

"I beg to differ." Jongin says, his tone teasing, but his eyes betray a hint of hurt.

"Hey," Kyungsoo's chest twinges, "that was different." Jongin makes a face, that implies he doesn't agree, but Kyungsoo doesn't want to start a fight, not here, so he lets it drop.

The testing of the spell goes much the same as yesterday, but Kyungsoo is still captured by the sheer beauty, and raw power of it.

Casting all day leaves him tired again, too tired to care that Minseok keeps making eyes at him.

"So which one do you think was the best?" Kyungsoo asks, falling into step with Joy as they all head back to the hangar.

"Either this one," she pulls out two from the pile, "or this one. The first one is more fluid, but the second one is just a tad stronger, in terms of shielding capabilities."

"Hm." Kyungsoo's eyebrows draw together in the middle. Listening as Joy continues to list the pros and cons of each one, though the difference are only minute, he purses his lips. He holds one page in each hand, and looks between them, trying to decide which one to go with. He's concentrating so hard that he would have walked straight into the door of the hangar, had someone not pulled him aside just in time. He looks up, intending to thank Jongin for rescuing him, but it's Minseok, and the words die on his tongue.

"Sorry." Kyungsoo mutters quickly, scuttling past him and joining Jongin by his side, glad when Jongin catches on, placing his hand on his lower back. Minseok follows sullenly, with another soldier elbowing his side. Inside the lobby, it's time to say farewell to them all, with the knowledge that now their work is done, they probably won't ever see each other ever again.

"I'm glad to have gotten the chance to work with you. Hopefully if you ever need any spells tested, we get assigned to help you out!" She beams, and Kyungsoo smiles awkwardly. "You've been a pleasure to work with, honestly, not many people are so receptive to criticism as you are."

"Thanks for giving me advice." Kyungsoo bows his head respectfully. He smiles at her, and wonders if he could put in a recommendation for her somewhere. They continue to bow as they leave, Kyungsoo making sure not to forget his backpack, where their lunch is kept, so they can eat on their way back.

This time, they aren't late; there's still a few people missing on the bus which means they aren't the last people to return.

"I just can't believe we're so close to having this wrapped up!" Kyungsoo enthuses, holding himself back from shaking Jongin in his excitement.

"Me too." Jongin chuckles, looking down at him fondly. Kyungsoo can feel his cheeks burning under his gaze.

"A-actually, before we go, I might just nip back and ask Joy-" Jongin cuts him off before he can finish, grabbing his wrist so he can't go anywhere.

"Kyungsoo. You have to stop somewhere, right? I know you; if I don't tell you to stop now, you'll keep trying to change things forever."

"But-"

"It may not be 100% perfect, according to you, but it will work, right?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"It will work. Won't it?" Jongin stares intently into his eyes, and Kyungsoo flusters even more.

"Yes." Kyungsoo sighs. "But I just- I want it to be as good as possible."

"I know that, but. You have to let it go. Pick one of the ones Joy said, and hand it in this afternoon."

"But I-” Kyungsoo tries again, but Jongin raises one eyebrow. “Well...alright."

"Kyungsoo, it will be fine. Trust me." He let's Kyungsoo's arm slip through his fingers until he's holding onto his hand. "Trust yourself. "

Kyungsoo presses his lips into a thin line, trying to think of another valid reason he could postpone finalising. Nothing pops into his head, and Jongin's warm hands, paired with his soulful eyes are making it difficult to concentrate anyway, so he sags.

"You're right." He steps up into the bus, noting that the driver is watching them like a hawk, probably listening in. A little quieter, as he leads Jongin onto the bus, he carries on, "I'll do all the necessary paperwork the afternoon."

"And that will be that?"

"Yeah." Kyungsoo nods. Which means that Jongin will leave shortly afterwards, unless he does something to stop him. He could make up any number of excuses, about needing him to stay on another couple of weeks while the spell is processed, just in case of complications. That is extremely unlikely to happen, but if it means Jongin will stay a little longer while he figures out how to deal with himself, he'll do it.

He grips Jongin’s hand, still tangled in his own, a little tighter. Jongin reciprocates the move, his thumb with his own.

"Do you think it will be easy enough for them to copy it out?" Kyungsoo asks, cheek pressed against Jognin's chest as they lie together on the sofa. They’re able to do that, now Jongin is permanently moved into Kynugsoo’s, or their room. It feels so much more spacious out here, without Jongin’s huge suitcase clogging up the walkway.

They'd handed the spell in, officially, that afternoon, and Kyungsoo is having some trouble letting go. Jongin had told him he was like a mother watching his child go off to war, but that had struck a little too close to home.

"I'm sure they'll be fine. They're all professionals, like you, right?"

"But what if I didn't draw it clearly enough? I should have given them a bigger copy, so they could see it more clearly."

"I'm sure they have a photocopier, Kyungsoo." Jongin reassures, rubbing his back.

"What if I drew it wrong, though? What if I accidentally gave them the wrong copy?"

"You didn't, and you quadruple checked before you handed it over to them. It will be fine."

"But wha-"

"Kyungsoo." Jongin scolds him sharply. "It's fine. You should be happier! You've finished the job, and now no one in this city is going to get hurt from attacks. This is what you wanted, right? You've spent months on this."

"I guess."

"And, they said they're going to start distributing the spell to other cities, right?"

"Yeah." Kyungsoo says, still not convinced that he won’t get an annoyed phone call from someone. Jongin sighs loudly and sits up, bringing Kyungsoo with him. Kyungsoo ends up sat across Jongin’s lap, holding onto his upper arms to keep from sliding off.

“Look, I know it’s in your nature to worry about things. I know that first hand. But I swear to you, it’s going to be fine.” He cradles Kyungsoo’s head, running his thumb across his cheek tenderly. Kyungsoo wants to believe him, but it’s just always going to be there, niggling away- Jongin kisses him, washing away any room for thoughts that aren’t Jongin. Kyungsoo’s eyes flutter shut as their mouths meld together. Jongin’s lips are soft, and Kyungsoo can feel his concern evident in how he kisses him, giving and sincere. Jongin pulls away slowly, eyes sparkling.

“It’s a little known fact that a kiss from me will make all your worries disappear. Did it work?”

“I don’t know. I think you might have to try again.” Kyungsoo replies, hardly able to keep the smile off his face. Jongin grins, ducking back in to kiss him again, but this time it’s less successful.

“Stop laughing, I can’t kiss you if you’re laughing.” Jongin pouts, poking his cheek. That only helps in making Kyungsoo laugh harder, however.

“ Healing kisses ? What is this, some cheesy romance novel?” Kyungsoo snorts. “Ugh, you’re lucky I love you.”

“Sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.” Jongin pouts, turning his cheek when Kyungsoo leans in for a consolatory kiss. “I try to cheer you up, and what do I get? Ridicule.”

“Noo!” Kyungsoo complains, hugging him tight. “I appreciate your healing kisses, I do !” He exclaims, crossing his legs behind Jongin’s back so that he’s stuck. Jongin wheezes, trying and failing to get up. The second time he tries, holding onto Kyungsoo properly, he’s able to get to his feet with little trouble. Kyungsoo cries out in alarm, clinging tighter.

“What are you doing?” Kyungsoo asks, laughing still, despite himself. Jongin starts tottering towards the bedroom.

“I was thinking maybe I need to give you a few more ‘healing kisses’ before they start to take effect.” He says, squeezing Kyungsoo’s . Kyungsoo hums,

“I like the sound of that.”

Kyungsoo draws swirling patterns on Jongin’s bare tummy, amusing himself with how the muscles twitch when he touches a ticklish spot. Jongin is dozing off, or trying to at least. Kyungsoo sighs quietly to himself. What do they do now? Kyungsoo will get a new area of research assigned to him, probably one not as complex or difficult as the previous one. He might be told to start working with Hyojung, on her spell that will supposedly keep out terrorists, or he might be left to find his own avenue of research, like he had been before. Maybe he’ll dive into studying other ancient barriers?

Jongin is a different story. He was only hired for this one particular assignment, and Kyungsoo doesn’t know if he would be able to get a subsidy to keep him on the payroll. Would Jongin even want to stay on, working with him?

“What’re you thinking so hard about?” Jongin asks, not even opening his eyes.

“I was just thinking about what happens next.”

“I’m assuming you don’t mean round two?” Jongin asks, walking his fingers down Kyungsoo’s back towards the curve of his .

“No.” Kyungsoo says, “I mean what do we do generally. Were you planning on going back home?”

“I don’t know for sure. But i hadn’t intended on going back, except to visit family. Speaking of, you never met my niece when she came to visit the other week.”

“Next time she comes I’ll meet her. And your sister.” Kyungsoo promises.

“I’ll let her know, she’s actually pretty excited to meet you. But yeah, uhh..I’ll start looking for another job in the city, I think. I’m not going anywhere, I only just got here.”

“You’ve been living here for three months now.” Kyungsoo deadpans, reassured nonetheless. “Are you going to look for a new apartment, too?”

“Are you trying to kick me out?” Without even looking, Kyungsoo knows he’s pouting.

“Did you ever seriously look for an apartment?” He probes. The silence is Jongin’s answer, “I knew it.” Kyungsoo shakes his head, amused. He’d played him the entire time.

“Look, doesn’t that show that I seriously liked you, even way back then?”

“It also could show that you wanted to leech off my hospitality?” Kyungsoo teases. Jongin gasps, affronted.

“I would never!” Kyungsoo turns his head, one eyebrow raised. Jongin is laying there with his arms behind his head, but he still looks like a deer caught in the headlights. “Ok,” he concedes, “I wouldn’t turn down cheap lodging, but that wasn’t the reason, I swear!”

“It’s ok, I probably would have let you stay anyway.” Kyungsoo hums.

Kyungsoo awakes to to a piercing sound.

Blearily, he rubs at his eyes and reaches for his phone, to turn off his alarm, but it's not vibrating. His phone says it's 3:44AM.

Beside him, Jongin stirs, murmuring some garbled complaint as he awakens as well.

"Is that..?" Kyungsoo squints into the darkness, fear coiling in his stomach. It is. "Jongin!" He rushes back to his boyfriend, shaking him awake, "that's the air raid siren. We're under attack!"

"What?!" Jongin sits up, suddenly a hell of a lot more awake. "Do we need to go to the shelters?"

"This apartment has a basement shelter." Kyungsoo is already pulling on some jeans, and a sweater over his pyjamas, "I don't know how much time we have; you have to get up!" He throws clothes at him, already pulling on his shoes. He can hear footsteps in the corridor of his apartment block now, people already leaving.

His phone rings in his pocket. He doesn't recognise the number, and in this situation he's wary of answering unknown calls. Jongin nods at him so he takes it anyway, struggling to tie his shoes one handed.

"Hello?" He asks, hoping that this is a friend's new number or something.

"Do Kyungsoo?" An authoritative voice asks. What the hell? This is not a voice he recognises.

"Speaking. Who is this?"

"I'm Lieutenant Bang, speaking on behalf of General Kwang, Head of Military Defence. I understand you are the owner and creator of spell three-four-five-one? We've sent a car to come pick you up so you can oversee the casting." Kyungsoo blinks owlishly. He hadn't expected that.

"Oh." Jongin eyes him inquisitively, hovering close by. His shoulders are hunched from the loud noise, and he instinctively reaches out to Kyungsoo for comfort.

"Please wait outside your apartment for further instruction." He orders, promptly hanging up.

"What was that all about?" Jongin asks, linking their fingers together and leading them past the sofa, neat and tidy now that Jongin doesn't sleep there anymore, and out into the pitch black street. All of the streetlights have been turned off.

"It was a call from the Head of Military Defence? About our spell. He's sending a car to pick us up." It's chilly outside, and the wailing of the siren is deafening.

"What?" Jongin pauses. "So we can't go into the shelter..?"

"No," Kyungsoo shakes his head, huddling into Jongin's side for warmth, "he said he wanted us to be there to oversee things."

"They think we're going to need it?"

"Well, they must do if they're sending a car for us. Either way, it's better to be safe than sorry, right?"

"Yeah. Did he say how long the car would be?"

"No, but it shouldn't be long. It's not like there's going to be much traffic at this time of night."

Kyungsoo looks up into the sky, searching for signs of aerial attack, but there’s nothing; just smoggy black skies, and no stars. A family of four, the father carrying a toddler, stumble past them and into the basement. Jongin and Kyungsoo share a look, wary.

As predicted, a black car pulls up just a few moments later, a window rolling down to let the driver clarify their identity. Jongin nods for both of them, and they get into the back seat, jittery from nerves.

With the roads desolate, the driver speeds towards their destination. He drops them off outside the tallest skyscraper in the city, which also, as luck would have it, is pretty much as close to the centre of the city as it could be.

"I should have known it would be here." Kyungsoo muses, briskly heading up the steps. It's so eerie here; the way the siren echoes off all the buildings is haunting, and with no one else around, it might as well be a ghost town.

Shivering, he and Jongin step into the building, where a frazzled employee greets them. A few minutes of tense silence in the elevator brings them out onto the highest floor. The government employee leads them up the stairs and onto the roof. The siren isn’t so loud up here.

Kyungsoo surveys his surroundings; six people are huddled around a small table, lit with a cheap lamp that someone is holding out, and another ten or so are standing around the edge of the rooftop.

"There you are," a broad man who walks with the confidence of a soldier gestures for them to come closer. "I'mLieutenant Bang." Kyungsoo bows his head. Lieutenant Bang continues to talk as he shakes their hands, explaining the situation.

"We're under a time pressure. Hanjurian air-forces are headed this way, and will get here in just under two minutes now."

"What?! Why aren't you casting already?" Kyungsoo's mouth falls open in horror. If they're that close, what are they waiting for?

"We're intending to shield all of Yeong Si, we don't want to waste energy." He answers the question like he’s talking to a child rather than the creator of the spell, and aside from being terrified that he’s going to die, it makes Kyungsoo’s blood boil. Jongin comes to his rescue, squeezing his hand before he can say anything.

"So you're going to try and cut it as close as you can? Isn't that pretty risky?" Jongin asks, aghast. Kyungsoo agrees wholeheartedly. If they're sending planes to bomb them, how will they be able to judge the timing? This is madness. They’ll all be dead before they even know what hit them!

"That's the goal." Lieutenant Bang says gruffly. "We're aiming to shield the entirety of Yeong Si, and to do that we'll need to use every last drop of energy we have. We don't know how long the enemy planes will circle; they might wait until the spell breaks, and we don't know when our forces are going to get here."

"Can we help in any way?" Kyungsoo asks, terrified but putting on a brave face. He's cast a spell in an emergency situation before; he's got this. "Surely the more people, the better? If we can fit." Kyungsoo say. It looks pretty crowded around that table.

"Maybe we can switch out if someone gets tired?" Jongin suggests.

"That's the plan." Lieutenant Bang nods. He gestures to the government spell casters, who are looking to the skies, faces tense and poised to start at a moment's notice. He doesn’t elaborate any more, and Kyungsoo watches him head back to the spell caster huddle. He instructs them to remain vigilant, himself straining to notice any sign of attack before it's too late.

Kyungsoo is starting to panic. Or, panic more . Hadn’t he made it clear that this version of the spell was much more efficient? He's treating it like it hasn't been changed at all. Heart palpitating, he pulls away from Jongin, needing to tell Lieutenant. Bang. Jongin is reluctant to let him go, but Kyungsoo's clammy hand slips out of his without too much trouble, and he hurries over to the head of military defence, hovering by his side.

"Sir, I designed the spell to be efficient enough in it's energy use that you should be able to cast it for long enough for the reserves to arrive; during testing, one woman cast it for over four hours! Alone !" He gestures animatedly as he talks, "with this many people, plus me and Jongin, there shouldn't be a problem covering the main parts of the city, at least."

"Our goal is to cover the entirety of the city." Lieutenant Bang informs him, "plenty of people live in the suburbs, and on the outskirts, their safety is also our concern."

"I'm concerned too!" Kyungsoo argues passionately. "I'm concerned that if you keep waiting, they'll be here before we can do anything."

"Kyungsoo-" Jongin, tries to pull Kyungsoo away, to avoid starting a full-blown argument, but he isn't having any of it. “Do you know exactly how fast they’re going to be? Do you know for sure how high they’re going to be, when they start dropping bombs? Do you?” Lieutenant Bang's eyebrows furrow, casting his eyes into dark shadows as he decides. Kyungsoo watches his face anxiously, looking out into the cloudy horizon every so often as if an enemy plane will appear out of nowhere.

Lieutenant Bang pinches the bridge of his nose, accepting Kyungsoo's words.

"Start casting." He orders.

"Sir." The woman who looks to be the leader nods, turning towards the rest of the group. Kyungsoo watches with bated breath, but nothing spectacular happens. The shield is so far above them, camouflaged against the inky blackness, that Kyungsoo can't even see it. He has no idea exactly how far it's edges reach, or if everyone is truly safe. He doesn't feel safe; he still feels totally exposed. Kyungsoo hopes that his creation is strong enough for this, to whatever is coming. What if they're using magical bombs? Kyungsoo can only hope that the amount of time and effort put into this spell was worth it, that the tests they put it through were an indicator of its true strength.

"Do you think it's going to work?" Kyungsoo whispers, for only Jongin to hear. Jongin pulls him into a hug, hiding his face in his chest.

"Yes, it will work. Have a little faith." He murmurs. His voice sounds strained; he’s scared too. Kyungsoo unashamedly clings to him for a second longer, before gritting his teeth. Though his legs are shaking, he steps forward.

"Is there room for me to help?" He asks, rolling up his coat sleeves with a wobbly smile on his face. The leader starts to move aside, forming a gap for Kyungsoo.

They don't even hear the engines of these new planes; so there's no warning when the first jet collides with the barrier.

Kyungsoo cries out in alarm, and some of the casters almost let the spell break from the shock before Lieutenant Bang is barking commands at them. The fallout of the impact is intense, orange flames at the walls of the spell, causing a shockwave of ripples to cascade over the shield.

The remains of the planes, swirling with fire, tumble down the side, leaving a trail of glowing smoke. Kyungsoo watches on, mouth agape and feet rooted to the ground. He squints, trying to see where the jets are but they're invisible against the overcast night sky.

A bomb falls, detonating on impact of the barrier and creating ripples that collide with the those caused by the plane. Instinctively, Kyungsoo cowers, covering his head with his arms. Another joins the first, and another until explosions are raining down on their city. The shield is shaking like jelly, but still holding strong. The deafening sounds bounce around in the tiny echo chamber and make Kyungsoo's body feel strange, like he's vibrating as well. It hurts his ears, so Kyungsoo pulls Jongin into an embrace, shielding his ears from the barrage as best he can. Jongin trembles with each impact, clutching at Kyungsoo like he's his lifeline, who is his hair in an attempt to calm him. He isn't sure if it's helping, but he carries on anyway.

The blasts blend together, like one continuous explosion. It’s pure chaos reigning above them- Kyungsoo can’t see anything except smoke and roiling fire. For Jongin's sake, he wants to go inside the building; it might be just a little quieter in there. But when he tries to walk them both in that direction, Jongin won't budge. He’s frozen in place.

It's just like fireworks, he whispers to himself. This won't last forever.

Except, it feels like it is. How many jets do they have? How many bombs? How long can they hold out? Will the magic itself stand up to this firepower?

"Rotations, people!" Mr Kwang bellows, violently ushering the reserve casters to move forward. Like an elaborate dance, they switch places, never having less than six people pushing energy into the circle at once. Kyungsoo begins to wonder why he and Jongin were brought here; they clearly aren't needed. He stares at the cityscape, lit up in unnatural red light, almost as strong as daylight. It's unsettling; like everything is on fire. But it's not. The spell is working . Kyungsoo knew that it would, but it's surreal to see his creation functioning so perfectly for what it was designed for.

Gradually, the attacks decrease in numbers, until it tapers off into silence. Kyungsoo's ears ring. Did they give up... or are they just biding their time? No one moves, no one breathes, afraid that the slightest movement will undo everything.

"Is it over?" He asks, at normal volume. He can barely hear himself, let alone anyone else, so he doesn't get his answer. Jongin slowly peels himself away from Kyungsoo enough to see his face; he looks terrible, eyes puffy and red. Kyungsoo's heart wrenches. He should have left Jongin back at the shelter, where he wouldn't have been subjected to all of this. Apologetic, Kyungsoo kisses his forehead.

"I'm sorry-" He starts, but even though Jongin probably can't hear, he can read his lips. His expression changes in an instant, and he shakes his head vehemently. He says something that Kyungsoo can't decipher, and pulls him in for a soft kiss. Kyungsoo melts into him.

When nothing has happened ten minutes later, Kyungsoo breathes out a sigh of relief. Hopefully they've realised now that their shelter can't be broken, and won’t try again. That’s probably wishful thinking.

Kyungsoo looks past Jongin towards the spell casters, still working their magic, and wonders if it’s safe to go home now. Lieutenant Bang is speaking rapidly into his phone. The little bits that Kyungsoo can pick up through the tinnitus include things like ‘radar’, ‘return fire’ and ‘success’.

So that’s what was happening? GeunTo military shot some of the enemy planes down. That explains a lot.

Lieutenant Bang hangs up, points at Kyungsoo and Jongin, then to the stairwell. Kyungsoo and Jongin follow him, understanding that he wants some measure of privacy.

“I want to thank you for advising me in this situation.” he says gruffly, “you are now free to go. The air raid siren is already called off. I would advise going home and getting some rest. A car is waiting outside for you”

“What?” Kyungsoo frowns, “what about the spell?”

“We can handle things from here. We’ll keep it going until morning, just in case. According to Central Command the Hanjurians have all been cleared, or have retreated. ”

“But-” Kyungsoo insists, wanting to stay and help, but Jongin’s trembling fingers around his wrist draw him away. Guilt tugs at his gut, and he relents easily after that, letting Jongin take him down the stairs after bidding Lieutenant Bang farewell.

They step into the elevator and suddenly Kyungsoo fears he might fall asleep standing up. He pulls his phone out of his pocket to find that they’ve been up here for over an hour. It hadn’t felt that long at all.

Jongin is still shaking like a leaf, face pallid.

“I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo begins again, “I shouldn’t have brought you.” Jongin purses his lips.

“I’d rather have been here with you than by myself in some basement shelter.” He admits. Kyungsoo’s heart wrenches at the thought of Jongin alone, unsure of what was going on. It was probably better this way.

When the elevator opens, they walk hand in hand out into the street; the lights still aren’t lit, in case of a second attack, and probably won’t be until the following night, but the sirens have indeed stopped. It’s safe. Once again, he looks skyward, but there’s still no visible sign of the barrier. He shrugs, secure in the knowledge that even if he can’t see it it’s still there.

As they get into the car, Kyungsoo allows Jongin to lean on him. He tries to calm Jongin as best he can, his hair and holding him close.

What will happen tomorrow? When the barrier breaks in the morning, there will probably be a lot of rubble to clear away- he hopes that nothing has been destroyed on the outside. Barely a week passed between him completing the spell and it being needed. Kyungsoo doesn’t believe in romantic notions like ‘fate’, but it does seem a bit like it was designed to be so.

Kyungsoo helps Jongin to undress himself and get into his pyjamas, then they curl up together under the blankets. Jongin doesn’t fall asleep right away, so Kyungsoo talks to him about his family. Of things that have nothing to do with the war in any way. Even though his eyelids droop, he keeps whispering until Jongin eventually drifts off, clinging to Kyungsoo in his sleep.