For the first time in weeks, Eli spent the night completely alone.

He was used to Ambrose waking up early, the morning sunlight keeping his side of the bed from going too cold. He was even used to Ambrose slipping in late, whispering apologies in the moonlight as he bumped into the nightstand, or rustled the sheets too loudly. Eli had gotten into the habit of silencing his apologies with a sleepy kiss, then tugging at the man’s waist until he could curl around him and drift back to sleep.

But tonight, Eli fell asleep wrapped around a pillow, and woke frowning into it.

It unsettled him, how much he was bothered by the absence. They hadn’t been together that long, after all. In a normal world, their relationship would still be quite new. They would be a few dates in—drinks, then dinner, then a movie. Certainly nothing involving the theft of illegal substances.

Eli hugged the pillow tighter. Heists didn’t make for very good dates. He’d have to remedy that at some point.

#

Sherry and Ambrose were waiting for Eli in the kitchen when he finally abandoned the pillow and shuffled downstairs. Judging by the deep shadows under Ambrose’s eyes, the man may not have made it back to his own bed last night. As soon as he saw Eli, he looked away and opened the door to the back porch.

“Come on,” he mumbled, his voice dull and scratchy. “We’ll do the testing out by the lake.” He shook his head as Eli started to reach for a coffee mug. “No coffee. Can’t have it influence the test.”

Eli stifled a yawn and followed him out to the porch. It was going to be a long morning.

“We’ll give you a small dose first.” Sherry linked arms with Eli as they wandered down the dewy path to the lake, Ambrose leading the way. Though not exactly chipper, her words held a little more pep than Ambrose’s. “We’ll acclimate your system, make sure you don’t have a reaction. Once I confirm you won’t die—“

“Aw, thanks, Sherry.”

“—I’ll leave Ambrose to show you the potions you’ll have on hand during the mission.”

Eli glanced at the back of Ambrose’s head. He didn’t react.

Once they reached the lake, Sherry was quick to sit Eli down on a picnic table by the dock and rifle through a medical bag, while Ambrose wandered along the lapping waves. He pointedly didn’t look at either of them as Sherry pulled out a tiny vial and popped the cork, letting the herbal scent of the icefall overpower the surrounding pine and lake water.

“All right. Drink this in one go and wait ten seconds.”

Eli downed it, then immediately thought of a dozen questions he should have asked her first. Did it hurt to ingest? What was he supposed to feel? What did a bad icefall reaction look like? What were the ten seconds for?

He swallowed and waited, trying not to read too much into Sherry’s watchful gaze. Twenty uneventful seconds passed before she spoke. “Feel anything?”

“No.” Eli rubbed his palms on his jeans. “Am I supposed to?”

“No.” Sherry immediately reached back into her bag. “Though you’ll likely feel tired over the next minute or so. Now, if you’ll let me run some tests…”

As he settled into a light, groggy fog, Sherry ran a litany of basic tests. Blood pressure, vision, hearing, reaction time. Though she kept her face neutral, her eyes sparked happily as she nodded and zipped up her tools.

“He’s all clear, Ambrose.” She stood, bag in hand. “No negative reaction to the icefall. The potions won’t be a problem.”

Ambrose grunted in response and turned away from the lake. “Thank you.”

Sherry squeezed Eli’s shoulder and began her hike back to the cabin. Eli made to stand.

“So once this fog goes away, I can—“

“No.” Ambrose pulled something from his pocket and slapped it down on the table. “You’ll start now. I need to know you can do this even when your head isn’t clear.”

Eli frowned. “Do what?”

“Identify the vials by touch.” Ambrose pointed to the object on the table—a series of vials, kept in a neat row with a little plastic grid. “You won’t always be able to look at them when you need to take a potion. If you’re going on the mission, I need to know you can navigate them without sight.”

He lifted the grid so the vial caps faced Eli. Between the overcast morning light and the brain fog, it took Eli a moment to see what Ambrose was hinting at.

“Oh. The textures.” Eli popped a vial out of the grid and ran a finger over the cap. A bumpy texture covered the top in simple patterns—a cross, a circle, a diamond. Ambrose settled on the opposite side of the picnic table. “Invisibility, illusion, energy wave, neutralizer,” he rattled. “Feel the patterns, then place them in your pocket and pull them out as I call them.”

Eli did as he was told, whipping out the correct potions faster and faster with each iteration of the test. As he did, excitement began to replace his grogginess, until he was wide awake and grinning after a perfect run-through.

“Fast enough for you?” Eli spun the neutralizing vial in his hand, blew on it, then re-holstered it back in his pocket. Ambrose folded his hands on the table.

“Suppose so,” he muttered, then pushed himself to his feet. “Come on, let’s test them out, then.”

The flatness in his words put a distinct damper on Eli’s bolstered mood.

“Hey.” He grabbed Ambrose’s arm as he tried to trudge by. “Listen, if you’re going to be like this the whole mission, then I probably shouldn’t go on it.”

Ambrose sighed, rubbed his eyes, and slouched on the bench next to Eli. “Apologies,” he said quietly. “I just…”

Eli tried to imagine what he would be like if the roles were switched. If Ambrose was volunteering for something reckless, and no one else on the team was stopping him. He bit his lip and squeezed Ambrose’s hand. “You don’t want to put me in danger, I know,” he said. “You forget that I was a detective before all this.”

“I didn’t forget,” Ambrose countered, but there was no edge to his voice anymore. Eli released his hand and rested his arm on the table behind Ambrose’s back, his thumb rubbing his shoulder blade.

“If this is the only way you can start a new life, then I want to do this. I want to help. Please let me help you.”

Ambrose let out a breath, then nodded and gave him a wan smile. “Alright. Thank you.”

Eli leaned forward and kissed his temple. One step closer to their new life meant one step closer to a real date. “Thank you.” He stood and extended his hand. “Now, teach me how to be cool like you?”

Ambrose rolled his eyes, but took his hand. “I’m not cool.”

“You’re a little cool.”

#

They stood at the edge of the waves, Ambrose weighing the vials in his hand.

“This one first.” He handed one to Eli, who swiped his thumb across the cap—the energy wave potion.

“You sure?” Eli frowned. He had assumed an energy-releasing spell would be the most difficult.

“Yes.” Ambrose pocketed the others. “It takes concentration, but it’s easier to manage once you get used to it. Try it out.”

Eli drank it. He expected the sharp herbal scent of the liquid to carry over in how it struck his tongue, but the taste was much milder than he expected. It even fizzed a little as it trickled down his throat.

A moment later, something jolted from his brain to the tips of his fingers, as if the potion was lighting up a new nerve in his arms. He was suddenly very aware of the movement of his heart, of the air filling his lungs, and he had to take a mental step back before he lost his mind inside of himself. Ambrose’s fingers wrapped around his shoulders, and he realized he was leaning back towards the water.

“You alright?” Ambrose searched his face. “It won’t hit quite so hard in the future, I promise.”

Eli tried to ground himself, but actually focusing on himself—his feet on the smooth stones, the stiffness in his posture—only made him more entranced by his own energy. Even the motions needed for speech were distracting. “How do I…?”

“Look at me.”

Eli did so gladly. Ambrose’s blue eyes were always brightest when reflecting back lake water.

“Better?” Ambrose asked. Eli’s gaze dropped to his lips. If he kissed Ambrose now, would he feel any energy coming from him? “No, you probably shouldn’t kiss me.”

Damn.

The word must have manifested across his face, because Ambrose gave a soft laugh and dropped his hands. “I think it’s time to let go of some of that energy now. Here, face the waves.” He gently turned Eli towards the water, away from the dock and the boat. “Try releasing a small amount. It doesn’t have to be like what you saw me use in the lab. In fact, I don’t recommend it.”

“Why not?”

“You’ll see.”

That didn’t strike much confidence in his heart, but Eli flexed his fingers and held them out anyway. Energy immediately pooled in his fingertips, tingling like static, then rushing and sparking and numbing all at once—

He gave a start and whipped the energy away from him. The resulting arc of light struck the water with an undignified splash, pelting both their faces with droplets—but Eli hardly felt them. His awareness was now down in the lake. He simultaneously felt waves on his face and a breeze on his forehead, his lungs filling with both water and air. In a choking attempt to sever the connection, he gasped and pulled back wildly.

“Hey.” Ambrose caught him as he fell backward. “Look at me again, Eli. I’m here. You’re here.”

Eli blinked once, twice—and found that Ambrose was right. The waves were back where they should be, and he was back above the water line, staring up at his…

Wait, hold on.

“Ames…are you my boyfriend?”

Ambrose dropped him onto the sand.

“I’m sorry, you…,” he set his hands on his knees, then gestured out to the lake, “you just used magic for the first time, and that’s what you’re thinking about?”

The waves tickled Eli’s shoes as if they were making fun of him. He scrambled to his feet, red-faced.

“I just—I don’t know, I…,” he brushed sand off his jeans, “we don’t have to put a label on it or anything, I just wondered…you know, never mind, let me try the thing again.”

Not looking at Ambrose, Eli extended his palms towards the water. The energy swept back up into his fingertips like before, but he worked to restrain it before it built up too high, like yanking floodwaters back from a dam. Though his fingers shook, the ripple of light that shot from his hands skittered across the waves more gracefully—and before his mind could extend with it, he pulled that back, too, keeping himself firmly rooted to the air and sand.

“That was good.” Ambrose shielded his eyes to watch the energy dissipate over the water. “Very good. Could you try smaller?”

“Smaller?”

“To practice your control. The smaller you can contain it, the easier it will be to scale up as needed.” He smiled. “Besides, can’t have my boyfriend tire out before he tries the other potions.”

As Eli’s heart ballooned, energy released unbidden from his lowered hand, plunking into the surf and splattering their jeans with water. They both leapt back, then Ambrose laughed. “Was that alright?”

“Alright?” Grinning, Eli kicked more surf onto Ambrose’s jeans, wanting nothing more than to hook his fingers into his belt loops and drag him forward. “You called me your boyfriend, and I can’t even kiss you right now!”

“Sorry, sorry!” Ambrose raised his hands. “Listen, the potion will only last for another fifteen minutes or so. Try it out a few more times, then you should rest.”

“And by rest, you mean…”

“I mean rest, Eli.”

Eli grumbled, set his shoulders, and turned back to the lake, letting loose a few rings of light just to calm himself down. After that, it became easier to control the amount of energy leaving his fingertips, to calibrate the output and keep his mind firmly between his ears at the same time.

And the more he practiced, the more he enjoyed it—seeing how wide the pulses could stretch, how far they could travel, how much force he could apply while keeping them small in scale. He even began to test if he could pick up elements of the waves, like temperature and speed, without mentally losing himself in them. But as he skipped tiny snippets of energy like rocks over the water, his connection began to fade, and he dropped his hands, feeling both lighter and emptier.

“Potion done?” Ambrose set a hand on his back. Eli squeezed his eyes shut against a rush of light-headedness.

“I think so.”

“Drink this.” Eli felt the cold condensation of a water bottle against his palm. “You’ll need to wait thirty minutes before you take another potion.”

“Thirty minutes?” As they returned to the picnic table, Eli mentally sifted through Ambrose’s past missions. “But…you’ve taken these things within a few seconds of each other.”

Ambrose shrugged. “I’m used to it.”

“But don’t you still…feel all of it?”

“Of course I do.”

Eli stared at the vials on the table. He had optimistically thought he was going to be pounding them back just like Ambrose—that Sherry’s worry about pacing in the lab heist had just been a protective gesture. “And…the energy surge is the easiest one?”

“In a way, yes.”

Eli rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay. Thirty minutes it is.”

#

Illusions were next, once Ambrose woke Eli from his unintentional nap on the picnic table.

“Can I have coffee now?” Eli rubbed the wood impressions off his cheek.

“No. Now drink this.”

Illusions drew less physical energy, but attacked his mind in much the same way as the energy surges, trying to tug his awareness to the silent copy of himself. Every time he tried to reel back his mind, the illusion guttered out like a candle flame. The fifth time it flickered out next to him, Eli groaned and passed his hands over his face.

“That’s exactly why I don’t use these often.” Ambrose nodded. “Try a few more times. It’s a tricky balance, but you mastered the energy waves well enough.”

By the time the potion faded, Eli had managed to send one illusion walking a few steps ahead of him, until the ghost-like feeling of sand shifting against his static feet made him shudder and lose connection.

“Don’t like that one,” he said. “Tell me being invisible is more fun?”

“Well, if I re-balanced the compound correctly last night…” Ambrose handed him the vial. “Wait ten minutes, then take it. You may feel a bit of a strain for a few seconds.”

Once the wait was up, this particular potion felt colder on his lips, as if the vial had been sitting in a freezer, rather than on the picnic table. As it ran down his throat, his limbs grew heavier from the top down, until he had to reach for the table to remain standing. Then his hand disappeared.

“What—?” Eli lifted his hand. Nothing. Not even a shift in the air to give away the position of his fingers as he wiggled them.

“It’s a more passive effect,” Ambrose said as Eli’s feet, then legs vanished from view. “You don’t have to concentrate on it to make it happen. But it is pulling on your strength to do it.”

“Which is why you couldn’t talk in the lab?”

Ambrose nodded. “This new version may not last the full five minutes, but you should be able to speak and move freely while invisible.”

Ambrose’s gaze wavered somewhere above Eli’s shoulder, as if he knew roughly where he was, but couldn’t quite see him anymore. Eli grinned as he waited for the heaviness in his limbs to subside—he had an idea.

“Move freely?” he repeated, slowly walking towards Ambrose. As Ambrose tried to keep an eye on his footprints in the sand, Eli brushed his forearm with his fingers. “Anywhere I want?”

Ambrose closed his eyes and smiled as Eli wandered behind him and placed his hands on his hips. “Perhaps invisibility was a bad idea…”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Eli pressed a kiss to his neck and completed his circle around Ambrose. “My boyfriend doesn’t have bad ideas.”

He hooked his fingers around Ambrose’s belt loops and neck, then guided him closer until their noses brushed. Ambrose gave a breathy laugh as his hands skimmed over Eli’s arms in an attempt to find purchase somewhere. “I do like how that sounds.”

“Boyfriend?”

Ambrose gave a hum and nodded. Before the last of the hum faded, Eli kissed him so he could feel it vibrate against his lips. But before he could go further, Ambrose broke away and began to litter his face with kisses, hands dragging up and down his back. “No idea where you are,” he murmured into Eli’s ear. “Have to sort it out.”

Ambrose’s fingers found Eli’s waistband and pulled, closing the distance between their hips. Eli groaned into the base of the man’s neck, trying and failing to think of something clever to say. “How—how long did you say this potion lasted?”

Ambrose tilted Eli’s chin up and pressed a smirk against his lips. “Not long enough for what I want to do to you.”

“Fuck.” It was all Eli could do not to rip at the buttons of his shirt. “I don’t even have a comeback for that—“

“What, like you’re the only one who can do the seducing around here?”

“Hell no.” Eli grinned, though he knew Ambrose couldn’t see it. “Question…how do you feel about the boat?”