Felix was growing anxious waiting for Julian. He’d been on the third floor for an hour in a fruitless search of Havik’s old room. Most of it had been cleared out, leaving very little behind to be gone through. Still, Felix wasn’t going to make the mistake of overlooking something just because it looked like nothing of importance. He’d done that once and nearly paid a heavy price for his incompetence. This time, there really was nothing to find outside of a few old sheets of math homework and a childish drawing of what Felix assumed was a cat.

He was contemplating going through Ynda and Mei’s room but decided against it. He didn’t feel comfortable searching women’s rooms in general, often asking Modette or Ruby to help with that. Since they weren’t here, he’d ask Gabriella or Amber instead. He had made it about halfway down the long hall back to the elevator when he changed his mind. Not about the women’s room, but the one that was next to it.

He glanced back down at the shut door that led to Toji and Natsu’s room, his gaze moving around the entire open area around him while keeping his other senses open in case there was anyone else around. For the most part he was alone, no signs of life to be found.

If he and Julian were going to succeed with this little stealth mission of theirs, there couldn’t be anyone around. All it took was one misstep, one overlooked person, for everything to go sideways and the entire job pulled for breaking the biggest rule in Helman Hall: Stay out of the Kanaki’s bedroom.

He tried to reassure himself that technically they weren’t breaking the rules; they were just sliding around them. 

He jolted at the sound of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Turning back around, he saw Julian reach the landing, a distracted look on his face. Curious, he shifted his weight to one leg, folding his arms over his chest.

“What’s up?” he asked as his boss drew near, his wild hair shifting slightly over his left eye.

Julian’s gaze jumped to him, as though he had been lost deep in thought, totally unaware of his surroundings. Felix inwardly sighed, tapping one finger on his arm. He’d told Julian many times he needed to stop letting his mind wander before he ended up getting hurt or, worse still, dead.

“Oh,” the young god said, affecting a small grin. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

“Uh huh,” Felix muttered under his breath. “What’s got you distracted this time?” Probably that Ren guy again, I’ll bet.

“I got a lead on where the box is and who has it.”

“Oh cool,” he said, pleasantly surprised. “Is it here?” He thumbed behind him to the sealed door. 

Julian shook his head. “No, it’s nowhere in the house.”

Felix kept his expression neutral. This wasn’t the first time he’d felt like he’d wasted his time on a hunt, but the way Julian had said it, he could have just sent a text instead of coming all the way up here. “Great,” he said, his tone even. “Then let’s get going.” He made a move to head out but Julian stayed put. He frowned. “Boss, if the box isn’t here, then searching their room is pointless.”

“They don’t know what it looks like in there.”

“Who?”

“Hawk and Hero.”

“I’m sure it looks exactly the same as it did five years ago.” Before Julian could interject, he added, “My dude, the only reason I suggested this was to see if the box had been put in there. If it isn’t, then we move on. No point in wasting time if we don’t need to.”

“Normally I would agree with you,” Julian said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his phone. He unlocked the screen, tapping and scrolling a moment, before handing it to Felix. “But it was a last minute request and I couldn’t refuse him.”

Felix sighed heavily, taking the phone and reading the message on the screen.

HERO: Please don’t tell Hawk…I need to know how they left it. I’ll transfer more cash, a bonus for doing this for me.

JULIAN: Keep the money. I’ll get a recording so you can see for yourself.

HERO: Thank you, I really appreciate this.

Felix looked up, handing the phone back. “He still sent the money, didn’t he?”

“Yep.” He pocketed the phone and they made their way back down the long hall. “Bonafide hush money.”

Felix snickered softly. “Wow, something you’ve never taken before,” he said sarcastically. 

Julian winked. “Alrighty then,” he sighed, standing in front of the sacred door. “Let’s see what’s behind door number two.” They both did one last cursory glance before Julian placed a reflecting barrier around them. If anyone walked past, they’d see nothing, sense nothing. Not only did it reflect light, but also magic and energy awareness. Julian was the only one who could do this and only his team knew about it.

And Ren…he’s the one that taught me. 

He ignored the skip in his heartbeat and formed an orb, an ivory tendril connecting it to Felix’s core. 

Felix scanned the door with his energy, looking for any spells or seals either of the Devil Gods may have placed on the door he may have a difficult time getting through. There were a few but they weren’t terribly strong. 

“Natsu made these,” he muttered.

“How can you tell?”

“They’re too weak, too amateurish.”

“So, it won’t take too long to get through.”

Felix snorted. “Hardly.” He glanced over at Julian. He liked that they were roughly the same height. It annoyed him when he had to look up to talk to anyone, literally and figuratively. “Compared to Toji’s or even Hero’s magic, it’s weak. Compared to me or you, it’s strong as fuck.” He tapped on the door. “Check it for yourself.”

Julian coated his hand with a layer of energy, one that was meant to dispel magic barriers on contact. When he touched the door, he flinched, drawing his hand back quickly. He glanced between it and the door, cursing under his breath.

“That fuckin’ hurt,” he complained, shaking his hand. Felix chuckled.

“Told you. You’d have to amplify your output twenty-fold just to touch it without getting tased.”

“How come you can touch it?”

Felix flexed his hand. “Bipolarity.”

Julian blinked. “They have medication for that.”

“No, fucker, like magnets. The energy he used to seal the door is primarily light demon energy. I’m using dark. It still doesn’t feel good, but it’s not nearly as bad.”

Julian frowned, raking his eyes over the old wood and iron fittings of the door. “I wonder if Hero and Hawk know about this.”

Felix shrugged, placing both palms on the door, a tendril of energy dancing over the handle and around the door’s edges. “Probably,” he said. “Maybe they figured that since Natsu and Toji were the strongest beings in creation, they wouldn’t be able to break the seal without some sort of major consequence. Or,” he added, the tendril smoothing out into a ribbon and expanding over the door as his hands spread apart. “They wanted to respect their son’s privacy.” 

The men shared a look, both of them feeling a slight tinge of guilt at what they were doing. They were used to breaking into places they didn’t belong in order to do what they needed to, never feeling bad about it. It was just part of the job. 

Toji and Natsu were family, estranged though they may be.

They were quiet for several minutes while Felix continued to work through each layer of Natsu’s seal. He was both impressed and irritated at how many the Devil God had managed to place in a relatively short amount of time. Something this complex often took days. He was about three layers in with two more to go when he finally broke the silence.

“You said you met him once.”

Julian nodded, knowing he was referring only to Toji. “Five years ago before they all left to destroy the barrier. He was…not what I expected.”

Felix gave a wan smile. “Hell changes a man,” he said softly. “I worked with his sister and cousin, but I never met Toji. He was already gone by the time our team got to Helman Hall after everything went down.” His hand twitched and he cleared his throat softly as the memory of Noah drifted across his mind. He shook it away and kept going.

“Dad said the same thing,” Julian said, completely missing the subtle, but brief, change in his teammate’s demeanor. “He used to be a lot more open and friendly. Happier, and, as he put it, ‘highly annoying’ at times.”

They both chuckled softly. 

“He is His Majesty’s older brother,” Felix grinned. “That’s to be expected.”

“Mom says I’m a lot like him.”

Felix glanced at him, his eyes moving up and down his form before turning back to the door. Another layer broke and he moved his hands again, the ribbon of energy splitting apart to dig through the next. “How so?”

“I act without thinking, reckless, impulsive…”

Felix’s eyebrow ticked in amusement. “She’s not wrong.”

Julian rolled his eyes in good humor. “I’m also driven and focused on what matters most.” His light blue eyes darkened, drifting down to the floor. “And I’m obsessed,” he added softly.

Julian, you need to stop. Going on like this, it’s ridiculous! You’ll make yourself go insane for no reason, you have to know that. Please, just stop already…he’s not coming back…

His mother’s harsh words still cut deep into his heart, tearing it further apart, the cold tone she had used still feeling like ice water in his veins. Another reminder that he was alone in his search for Ren…for his soulmate. He inhaled deeply, gently touching the energy link to Ren.

“Well,” Felix said with some effort as the final layer began to tear. “When it comes to hunting, you are a bit of a nutcase.”

Julian’s shoulders relaxed and he chuckled softly. “Yeah, you’re not wrong.”

“Wouldn’t kill you to take a vacation every now again, boss,” Felix said, his hands shaking as he curled his fingers in, straining against the energy, his own ribbons morphing into blades that were desperately trying to cut and saw through to their goal.

Julian frowned. “Can I help?”

Felix shook his head. “No, you’ll only get hurt. Besides…” he grunted once, pulling his arms toward him, his muscles shaking from the exertion. “I’ve nearly got it.” With the use of a dozen more sharpened tendrils and his own strength, he finally destroyed the final seal.

He staggered back with a loud exhale, breathing heavily. “Fuck,” he panted. “If we ever find that motherfucker, remind me to ask him to seal up my apartment.”

Julian gave him a thumbs up. “Noted. Can we get inside now?”

Felix frowned. “I’m supposed to spy through my energy, Julian, not step foot on sacred ground.”

Julian backed down. While there was literally nothing standing in their way between them and physically entering the space beyond the old door, outside of the physical lock on the inside they could easily break if they wanted to, they had promised Ryu they would respect his and the Helman’s wishes to stay out.

He nodded. “Alright,” he said. He moved the orb closer to the door and took a step back himself. “Do your thing.”

Felix gave a mock salute, three ivory and two dark tendrils snaking around the door’s seams and through the lock into the room beyond. The first thing he looked for was the light switch, the room being pitch black. When he flicked it on and the image came through into the orb, both their jaws dropped.

“Holy…”

“Fuck.”

-*-