Ashley's hands ached from pumping magic into his assignment, turning crumbling concrete into gold dust. He carried the tray to the door and pushed it through the slot in the heavy metal door. A pale hand snatched it and shoved another dish forward.

He tried again, but no magic flowed through him. He's drained.

"I-It's not working..." Ashley whispered. "I can't make any more today."

Silence followed, and Ashley worried he wasn't heard until a mustard yellow mist started to seep into the room from the ceiling before quickly descending to face level. The moment the gas made skin contact, Ashley wretched back. His skin was burning, like a thousand lit matches buried under his skin. He scrambled away, scratching up his palms on the rough stone floor. It was futile; the mist quickly filled the bottom half of the room.

His entire body burned, dipped in acid then, covered in salt. All he could do was curl into a ball and wait out the pain with his eyes scrunched as tight as they could go. It took five minutes for the room to dissipate and another ten for Ashley to feel safe enough to open his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the golden shine across the floor and walls. Everywhere he touched in his panicked state was covered in partially molten gold.

The voice from behind the door was cold but had the slight undercurrent of a particularly malicious teacher. "Are you ready to try again?"

...

Ashley dashed his half-finished project against the wall, splattering molten gold against the white tile. It was supposed to be a golden conch shell soap holder for a very eccentric and far too wealthy mermaid client, but Ashley had dozed off, squishing the gold into a jagged lump. That was the third project he'd messed up this week.

Ashley showed his workbench away, standing up abruptly and scattering his tools. He'd been in the workroom the whole day with nothing to show for it and had to leave. Otherwise, he'd drive himself crazy. As he left the workshop, he glanced briefly at the shelves, each item containing a wealth of memories. The last thing his sight settled on was a golden eye suspended in a glass mason jar.

He should probably get rid of that.

For whatever reason, his brain was insistent on dredging up as many painful memories he could muster before the sheer terror wretched him awake. He hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in a month. With one exception, of course.

Ashley winced as he lumbered back into his apartment. His anger at Ethan had subsided. Being forced to relieve all the stupid and painful things he'd done or was forced to do, to survive made him far more sympathetic. Still, he didn't enjoy having someone rooting around his head, searching for his trauma.

But, he did very much enjoy being able to sleep through the night without nightmares. It was clear the lack of sleep was starting to mess with his art. Like it or not, he needed to fix this problem, and Ethan was, at least at this very moment, his only option.

...

Ethan's apartment was easier to find than expected, especially with Del's help. She had, of course, drawn the story out from him, especially after the scene he'd made at her restaurant.

Ethan lived in a tiny Art Deco apartment block very close to Elysium. He very hazily remembered what floor the apartment was on.

Ashley paused in front of Ethan's door, hand hovering for a second before biting the bullet and knocking. After a minute, Ashley heard someone behind the door and saw the peephole open, emerald greens peering at Ashley in surprise.

"Hi?" Ashley waved. The peephole quickly closed, and the door soon opened. Partially. The chain lock was still firmly in place.

"I'm so sorry. I-" Ethan started to apologize through the partially cracked open door.

"How much do you know about magic?" Ashley asked. There's no point trying to avoid the awkwardness, might as well dive head first and get to the point.

"Nothing?"

"Do you want to know more?"

"Yes. Of course. I-"

"Can I come in?"

...

Ethan watched Ashley sink into his couch. Even though this was his place, Ashley looked far more comfortable than Ethan felt. He stood several feet away, at the room's entrance, and swayed nervously from foot to foot, eyes darting from Ashley to the floor and back.

Ashely was gorgeous, like every other instance they'd met, but he looked tired, exhausted really, with heavy bags under his eyes and a very persistent eye twitch. Still, he looked, well, delicious. Ethan sighed, refusing to pay attention to the pangs of hunger crawling up from his stomach and out his throat. He was very tempting just sitting there, like an unattended pie at a potluck, except it's full of knives.

It was only after a minute that Ethan realized they both hadn't said a word, and he almost went invisible from sheer embarrassment. He was about to break the silence, deciding not to draw this awkwardness out more than necessary, but Ashley spoke up first.

"Alright, first things first. I'm not upset. Not anymore. I've made my fair share of cock ups when I started figuring out my powers." Ashley rushed the words out quickly, like word vomit, eyes affixed to the wall behind Ethan. Very different from the last time they spoke. "Yeah. The night I met you... after I went back home... it was the best sleep I'd had in a long while."

Ethan didn't respond immediately. He just stared, dark brows knitted together in confusion, waiting for Ashley to elaborate. What was he suggesting, and what did this have to do with learning more about magic?

"Whatever you did to my head. It suppressed those memories for long enough to get a good night's sleep; I want that again." Ashley finally made careful eye contact with Ashley, whispering his last words. "Can you help me?"

Ethan felt something in his brain pop. This... wasn't what he was expecting. His fangs descended, scraping his bottom lip. He gripped his arm, nails digging into his skin as a minor distraction. Ethan was, quite literally, starving, and Ashley was offering himself up. Showing any restraint felt like a herculean task, but he couldn't just jump him without questions.

Ethan stepped closer, first steps faltering as he watched Ashley with caution, like he was a wild animal about to bolt, though Ethan felt much more like the animal, like a starving predator. He kept walking, faster now, till he got to the couch. He dropped down and kneeled in front of Ashley so they could see eye-to-eye.

"Are you serious?" Ethan asked breathlessly.

Ashley smiles a small but still genuine smile. "Yes." He whispered.

Ethan's head was hazy, he was starving, and Ashley's lips were so close to him. He still remembered vividly how soft his lips were. He barely noticed how close they'd gotten or how one hand was cupping Ashley's face, thumb tracing his freckles as he stared at Ethan, waiting for a response. Even though his eyes were half-lidded and puffy from exhaustion, they were still mesmerizing: golden brown with flakes of gold suspended in his iris, like sunlight refracting through amber.

Ethan did something intensely stupid.

He kissed him.