We end up on the soccer field. Aiden lets us through a side door, and we step back out into the night. It’s cold and late enough for the grass to be frosty. Muffled crunching sounds accompany our footsteps. Our breaths puff out as swirling white clouds, then disappear.

Aiden stops in the middle of the field, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. He closes his eyes and takes a long inhale, tipping his head back.

“I used to love it out here,” he says, as I come to a stop by his side.

“I remember you out here,” I tell him.

It’s not like I was looking for him, but he was the tallest one on the team. I could always spot him during practice, when I walked along the edge of the field to get back to my car.

“You came to some of the games.” Aiden glances down at me, a small smile on his face. “I noticed.”

“Um, yeah. Kasey, Destinee, and Ang would come down with random bouts of school spirit, and I would inevitably get dragged along.”

I remember those games. Aiden in his jersey, the soccer shorts, socks pulled up to his knees. Jogging backwards, breaking into the tiniest grin when something good happened. Chestnut hair slick with sweat, curling into his face. Blue eyes focused, roaming over the field, occasionally flicking to the bleachers.

He was fast.

Now that I think about it, this is the only place on this campus where I ever saw Aiden look happy.

“Here I was hoping that you came to see me in my soccer shorts,” he teases, ruffling my hair.

“No!” I protest. “I mean, side benefit, for sure. And I’ve definitely developed an appreciation for the kneepads. Or - shin guards.”

Aiden laughs, then turns slowly, his eyes traveling over the bleachers, the switched-off field lights.

“It felt good,” he says, more softly, “To have a few hours a day, where all anyone wanted from me was just… that I could run fast, and kick a ball into a goal. If I fucked up, the worst thing that would happen was, we’d lose a game. Which was just - nothing, in the grand scheme of things.”

I step closer, lean my cheek against his shoulder.

“Then I guess this place doesn’t need a better memory, hmm?”

“No,” Aiden agrees. “The field is fine as it is.”

He stands still for a moment, then drops to sit down. He sets his snapback aside, stretches out on his back. I lower myself down next to him, and we look up overhead, watching the stars in silence.

I take his hand. Our interlaced fingers rest against the cold grass, our breaths drifting up over our heads.

“Aiden. Now that we’ve done this, I have a favor to ask.”

“Anything.”

I squeeze his hand.

“What happened between us here... I don’t want you to feel bad about it anymore. I know it’s a big thing to ask of you, but… I’ve forgiven you. I want you to forgive yourself.”

Aiden closes his eyes. I give him a few minutes of silence, then pin on:

“I know that it’s hard for you, but-”

“No, I…” He opens his eyes, tilts his head towards mine. “You know how I told you, when I first got sober, it was a long time before I came out of the fog, got a handle on my emotions, and thoughts, and the noise?”

I nod slowly, watching him. “Yeah.”

“When I did…” He looks up again, fixing his eyes on the sky. “I started thinking about everything I’d done, and the guilt really set in. All I could think about was how selfish I’d been before. I started thinking that - letting myself try to be happy, that was its own kind of selfishness, because I didn’t deserve it. Not after everything I did. Like, pull all this bullshit, say all this bullshit, and then just decide to forgive myself? Who the fuck was I to do that? I felt like - I should have to pay for it.”

A silence falls. I want very badly to say something. I have to force myself to wait until Aiden speaks again.

“I finally realized - punishing myself by being miserable and numb all the time… it wouldn’t help you, or Mellie, or any of the people I’d hurt.” He takes a breath. “Deciding that I wanted to be okay, get my shit together so that I could try to fix what I’d fucked up - that was different from being selfish. That was the first time I’d actually really been responsible to myself. Maybe the first time I’d really been responsible to anyone else, either.”

I lift his hand to my mouth, gently kiss his knuckles. He smiles, but keeps his gaze overhead.

“I mean, I struggled with it. I still do. But the payoff of letting myself move forward… I got the chance to make things right with you, Mellie, and Kasey. Even Noah. I got to heal some of the damage I did. It had an outer effect, not just an effect on me. And the effect on me, Jamie - being with you - I didn’t even know I had the capacity to feel - so…”

Warm everywhere, I snuggle up against him, so we can tilt our heads together. Aiden presses his forehead to mine.

“So, yes. I will try to forgive myself for this stuff. I’m actually trying all the time. Sometimes it’s hard for me, and I’ll feel bad about it, or fuck up and apologize again. But… yeah. I promise. I’ll keep trying.”

I stare at him, so proud that I don’t know what to say.

“I know, I know,” he groans, misreading my silence. “Philosophical sober Aiden makes an appearance. I’m sorry. Hate myself.”

“I’m actually sort of a fan of philosophical sober Aiden,” I tell him, brushing a kiss onto his cheek.

He touches my face affectionately, matching my smile.

“This really helped,” he murmurs. “Now, when I think of this place, I will think of all the old stuff, but - I’ll think of this, too.”

“Good.” I beam at him, then sit up, looking around. “And you can always think of the field, right? No bad memories here.”

Aiden sits up too, hooking his arms around his knees.

“No. No bad memories here. A few good ones, in fact.” He shoots me a grin. “I remember that once I scored a goal with a header off a long pass from Jabrill. I was pretty stoked that you happened to be there for that game. That was a good day.”

“Okay, I officially don’t know what we’re talking about anymore,” I answer, and Aiden huffs out a laugh. He retrieves his snapback, then bounds to his feet and extends me a hand. I let him pull me up.

“Alright, we should probably go.” He settles his hat on his head, backwards, as usual. “Don’t want to get caught, do we?”

“Yeah, I’d hate to get a demerit. Fuck up my perfect record.”

Aiden smiles, shaking his head. He reaches over to ruffle my hair.

“Come on, Keane. Let’s get out of here.”

He leads me off the field. We leave behind only footprints in the frosty grass, and the shape of ourselves, where we lay talking.

But it feels like maybe we left something else behind, too, and without it, we both walk a little easier.

~~~~

The locket sits in the center of the Ghost Office, on the floor. Open, the trick latch exposed.

Aiden is examining the latch with a calm, thoughtful expression on his face. I expected him to be anxious, but he seems steady this morning, grounded. Maybe because of last night's visit to our old campus?

Wherever it stems from, he’s feeling ready, and it shows.

Kasey, on the other hand, is a ball of nerves today. She keeps twisting her fingers together, then pressing them to her cheeks. Realizing she’s doing it, stopping, then starting up again a few minutes later.

I wish I could give her a hug.

“Hey,” I say quietly, “It’s gonna be alright.”

“Okay, yeah,” she answers, blinking fast and hard. “Yeah. Yeah.”

“Kase-face. Aiden wouldn’t say that he’s ready if he wasn’t. You know that about him.”

“That’s… true.” She nibbles her lip, then shakes out her hands. “Okay, I’m fine. It’s going to be fine.” She turns to look at Aiden, raising her volume. “You can do it, Aiden! I believe in you! Never had any doubts!”

He glances up at her, surprised. “Oh. Uh. Thanks?”

“Yep!” Kasey says, her voice strained. “No problem! You’re gonna do great!”

Aiden looks to me for guidance.

“What’s happening?” he asks, and I flap a hand at him.

“Nothing, Kasey is just a little - nothing. Don’t worry about it! Stay focused.”

Aiden gets to his feet, dusting off his hands.

“I am focused. I feel ready, if you guys do.”

“Yep,” I answer, before Kasey can say anything. “Right, Kase-face? We’re feeling good.”

“Right,” she says faintly, rubbing her arm, and then - “Aiden! You’re sure, you - you won’t destroy it?”

I cringe, expecting this to throw Aiden off, make him nervous all over again.

He crosses the room to us, stops before Kasey, and holds out a hand. She lets out a heavy exhale, then puts hers flat over his, palm to palm.

“It’s going to be fine,” Aiden says firmly. “I’ll stop if I can’t control it, I promise, but I don’t think it’ll come to that. I’m-” His eyes flick briefly to me, and he smiles. “I’m feeling good today. I have a good feeling about it.”

Kasey stares into his face, apparently searching for any sign of false confidence. She swallows, nods, and draws her hand away.

“Alright. Okay, yeah. Let’s do this.”

Aiden and I sit down on the floor, on either side of the locket. We link hands around it. Kasey stands a foot or so away, her arms crossed, one hand pressed over her mouth.

Aiden opens the connection so smoothly and easily that I don’t realize he’s done it until the rush of warmth is up to my elbows.

Wow. You are feeling good today, huh?

He smiles, on the inside. Yeah, I guess I am.

You remember the movements? Just like Ariana did it.

Yep, Aiden says. Gonna try and make her proud, today.

Now I’m the one smiling. You want me to talk?

Yes, please.

I start chattering away with my inside voice. Aiden relaxes into the connection, falling into deep, focused quiet.

My eyes are closed, but I can hear Kasey pacing around us. This is going to be the hardest part for her. It can take a long time for Aiden to get to the right mental place. When we’re sharing our connection, this time goes by startlingly fast. But not for Kasey, who, unfortunately, just has to stand there and wait.

And the wait will be tense. I’ll be able to feel it when Aiden starts to make his move. I can feel the shifting of the energy, the way he starts to gather it together. Kasey will have no warning. For her, the locket could quite literally explode at any moment.

I feel bad, but I tell myself that it’s okay. The stress will all be worth it when Aiden gets the locket open.

Time passes. I’ve been talking for a while, and I find myself accidentally asking Aiden a question.

How are you doing it, anyways? Turning the thing. You just - ask it to turn, or-? Oh, I’m sorry. Don’t answer that, stay focused.

No, it’s okay, he says. You know how I closed all the doors at the Bratton Collection with the temperature currents? I’m doing an extremely scaled-down version of that. Tiny, actually.

Really? You’re moving it by manipulating the temperature?

Sort of, but not exactly. It’s more like the temperature is a way to focus the energy, or - I don’t know how to explain it. I’m sorry.

You’re totally fine. That’s pretty neat, though, Aiden.

Oh. I feel him smile again. Thanks.

He falls silent, and there comes a current, a movement through our connection. A very, very small one. In an ocean of energy, I feel Aiden make the gentlest possible wave.

Blinking, we both look down at the locket. Aiden carefully releases one of my hands, then holds his out over the locket, like Ariana did. Frosty blue magic is swirling in his eyes.

Achingly slowly, he curves his hand to the left.

The latch follows the movement.

I hear Kasey take in a sharp breath from behind me, but I sit perfectly still. I don’t want to do anything to mess up Aiden’s concentration.

He hasn’t reacted at all. You’d think that nothing had happened. He unwinds his hand, then does the motion again. The latch turns once more to the left.

I hold my breath. Aiden turns the latch to the right four times, each time going painstakingly slow.

Then one more time, to the left.

The latch pops up.

~~~~

“Oh my fucking god!” Kasey shouts. “Aiden! You - fucking - dream! If I was physical right now I’d kiss your face off!”

I twist to look at her, my eyebrows all the way up. “Um, no, you definitely would not!”

Aiden winks at her, releasing the connection. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, Kasey.”

“Excuse me!” I turn to give him a shove, but my eyes catch on the locket, and it hits me what just happened. “You guys!” I shout, and Aiden sits back, exhausted, a giant grin on his face. Kasey bounces up and down on the spot, her hands clasped beneath her chin, her black hair swinging wildly.

“Oh my god, someone open it!” she says. “Open it!”

Aiden picks up the locket, and an instant silence falls over the Ghost Office. Kasey drops to her knees, and we all put our heads together over the little circle of gold.

Aiden gives the latch a very careful tug. The compartment opens.

“How’s it feel, Aiden?” Kasey asks, her voice hushed and excited. “You just opened a door that’s been sealed since the nineteenth century.”

Aiden bites back a smile. “Feels okay, I guess.”

We all laugh softly. Aiden hesitates, then uses his fingertip to nudge the compartment door open.

There’s no hair cutting inside, not that I can see, but - there is something. We all glance up at each other, confused. Aiden tips the locket over, letting the contents tumble out onto his palm.

“What are these?” he asks, his eyebrows furrowing.

It’s a good question. They look like brown paper envelopes, but tiny ones. Ridiculously small.

There are two. The corners are slightly dented on both; probably the result of us knocking the locket around. These are clearly responsible for the rattling noise, but - what are they?

“Looks like mail, but - doll-sized,” Kasey observes. “Like, mail for a Barbie.”

“What are we supposed to do with them?” Aiden asks. “Open them? They’re so small, how even would we?”

He sets them both down on the floor. A shaft of sunlight falls over the closer one, and I squint at it.

“Hey, I think there’s something written on the front.”

“Yeah, I see it, too, Jamie.” Kasey narrows her eyes, bending closer. “But who the hell could read that? It’s way too small.”

We sit in puzzled silence, staring down at the two minuscule envelopes. I think we’re all trying to strategize, but it’s hard to see the answer.

Until I blink, and suddenly do.

“Hey. The envelope in the sunlight - did it get a little bit bigger?”

Everyone stares. The envelope that Aiden set in the shade definitely looks smaller than the other, and they were identical a minute ago.

Kasey looks up, a realization dawning on her face. “They’re heat-activated. Or - light, maybe?”

“Wow, that’s lucky.” I turn to Aiden, offer him my hand. “That just so happens to be your specialty, babe.”

Aiden takes my hand, then opens the connection. He gathers both envelopes into his palm and begins to heat them up, bathing them in soft golden light.

Slowly, they start to grow, swelling in size until they’re each about the dimensions of a greeting card. Aiden releases the connection, and we all look down to read the writing we couldn’t make out before.

Two letters. Addressed to different people, but in the same flowing, cursive hand.

The first: To My Darling Will.

And the second: To The Heliomancer.