Work Text:
"Are you positive this won't give me magic powers?" Tanaka asked, gesturing to the same tarot card deck that he had been for the last fifteen minutes.
Daichi kept reading his book as he replied, "Again, no, it won't. It's a beginner's deck and has no magical properties."
Koushi bit back a laugh as he reclined against a nearby bookcase. Tanaka and Nishinoya had dropped by during Daichi's lunch break that day. Normally, Tetsurou would have handled the pair—with less kindness than Daichi would have—but that day he had seen the two coming, shifted into cat form, and bolted out the backdoor before Daichi could stop him. Daichi instead stood behind the counter, reading while the dup wreaked havoc on Daichi's shop. Koushi had volunteered to watch them so Daichi could have his break, but oddly, Daichi had declined. Koushi had no idea why; it wasn't like he was a bad influence and egged the pair on or anything. Not at all.
"How can you tell?" Nishinoya asked.
"Noya, I do all of the supply ordering. I think I'd know which of my tarot card decks are and aren't magical. And before you ask, no, none of them are magic."
Nishinoya and Tanaka deflated. Koushi snickered; time to cause some chaos.
"Hey Daichi, so about the necklace you gave me," Koushi said, getting to his feet. He pulled the pendant from his around his neck and held it up so Nishinoya and Tanaka could see it.
"Yes, Koushi?"
"What did it do again?"
"Blue fluorite: represents the highest state of mental achievement, boosting aptitude and discernment, the absorption of new information, and helping one work through complex issues," Daichi said, his tone flat, as if reciting a well-memorized monologue. "Makes you smarter."
"Is that all it does? Because I've been starting to feel funny when I wear it."
Daichi's eyes stopped moving across the page, but he didn't look up. Tanaka and Nishinoya moved closer to Koushi. Got em.
"Funny how?" Daichi asked.
Koushi shrugged, "I dunno, I feel more energetic. Like there's electricity under my skin-."
"Suga, you're one of the coolest dudes I know-," Tanaka began.
Nishinoya added, "-and we get that you're Daichi's boyfriend and all-"
"-but we've been at this whole 'Trying to get magic powers' thing for a while-"
"-and if you get magic powers before us-"
"-we will kill you," they finished in unison.
Daichi slowly looked up from his book, his face unreadable as he locked eyes with Tanaka and Nishinoya. Tanaka and Noya's spines straightened, their eyes widened. Without saying another word, the duo bolted to the other side of a bookshelf. Daichi's expression softened as he snickered under his breath.
"What did you do to them?" Koushi asked. "You curse them or something?"
"No, if anyone were to specialize in curses, it'd probably be you," Daichi said.
Koushi wasn't sure if he should be flattered or offended by that assessment of his character.
Daichi continued, "I just gave them a good old fashioned murder glare. Threatening my boyfriend with death is off limits."
Daichi spoke louder than he had been for his last statement. Koushi saw Nishinoya and Tanaka duck behind the bookshelf again out of the corner of his eye. He put the fluorite necklace back around his neck and moved to stand next to Daichi.
"How did they figure out that you're a witch?" he asked.
"An unfortunate mistake on mine and Kuroo's parts," Daichi grumbled.
"Forgot to lock the door before an experiment, right?"
"We saw the whole thing," Tanaka chimed in. "I thought Daichi was going to turn us into toads."
"I still can, you know," Daichi threatened.
Tanaka waved off Daichi's empty threat. He put the tarot deck back on the shelf and left with Nishinoya, promising to come back on a day when they had money. Almost immediately after they left, Tetsurou walked out of the backroom.
"Finally, I thought they'd never leave."
"Next time they show up, I'm locking you in here with them," Daichi said as he marked his page and closed his book.
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Sawamura."
Daichi pulled his wand out of the desk drawer. He made a complicated gesture towards the bookcase next to Kuroo, then put the wand back in the desk. For a moment, the shop was silent. Then books began to fall off the shelf. Before they hit the ground, they flipped, flapping their covers and pages like hardcover birds. Koushi guessed Daichi's plan a second before it came into fruition. The books swarmed Tetsurou, knocking him flat on his back.
"It's cheating to steal moves from the Harry Potter video games, Sawamura!" Tetsurou shouted from under the dogpile of books.
"It's cheating to run out on me when Tanaka and Noya show up," Daichi said, returning to his book.
Koushi watched as Tetsurou turned into a cat, slid out from under the books and bolted for the break room. The books rose in the air; Koushi didn't realize how menacing animated books could be. They dove for Tetsurou. He shifted back into a human long enough to slam the door shut, the books bouncing harmlessly off the door. They shook to reorient their pages, then flapped back to their shelves.
***
"How strong is your magic?"
Daichi turned towards where Koushi was sitting on the bed, vision obscured by the shirt halfway over his head.
"Why do you ask?"
Koushi shrugged, then realizing Daichi couldn't see him, explained, "Just curious. I've seen you do a lot of cool things in the last year and a half, but I have no idea how powerful your magic is."
Daichi finished pulling his shirt on. He made a face as he smoothed out a wrinkle.
"I don't really know how to answer that," he admitted. "My guess is average?"
"Is that a question or a statement?"
"I don't know, Koushi," Daichi said. "I don't know how strong my powers are compared to others. Illusion magic is radically different from transfiguration which is radically different from, say, shapeshifting. I guess some people can do more than others, and obviously my magic is stronger when compared to people who don't have magic, but I don't think that's what you're asking."
"It's not," Koushi agreed.
Daichi crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed. Koushi crawled across the bed to join him, resting his head on Daichi's shoulder. Daichi wrapped an arm around Koushi's waist.
"I just want to learn a little bit more about the logistics, I guess," Koushi said after a minute. "You've shown me a lot of stuff, but you never really talk about the how and the why."
"Are you an art teacher, or a science teacher?" Daichi teased.
Koushi let out a scoff. "Curiosity knows no discipline, asshole."
Daichi chuckled, giving Koushi's hip a squeeze. Koushi headbutted Daichi's shoulder in retaliation.
"It's kind of hard for me to explain the logistics," Daichi said. "My parents never really explained it to me when I was first learning how to use magic. They always said it was just something we've always been able to do, and to enjoy what I could do."
"Could you learn how to shapeshift?" Koushi asked.
"I could, but it would take me years. I don't have time for that."
"So, could a normie learn how to use magic?"
Daichi shook his head, "I really don't think so. There may be some hidden magic out there somewhere, but I don't know how it could happen. Either you're born with it, or you're not."
Sensing Koushi's dissatisfaction, Daichi pulled Koushi closer. He pressed a kiss to Koushi's temple and whispered, "That being said, magical items still work with normies with the right kind of training."
Koushi sat up straight, turning on the bed to stare at Daichi.
"Explain."
Daichi grinned at Koushi, flopping back onto the bed. He pushed himself up to the pillows and slid under the covers.
"You'll find out tomorrow."
Koushi's jaw dropped.
"Daichi! You can't just drop that on me and go to bed!"
Daichi laughed, "Good night, Koushi."
"Daichi! Daichi explain!"
"Babe, can you turn off the lights please? I'm trying to sleep."
"I'm gonna smother you with a pillow, you dick."
***
The following morning, Daichi led Koushi back to the shop. Once inside, Daichi handed Koushi a bandana and instructed him to cover his eyes with it. Koushi looked at Daichi, then the bandana, then back to Daichi. He waggled his eyebrows at Daichi.
All Daichi said in response was, "No."
Snickering, Koushi took the bandana from Daichi. He tied it around his eyes.
"So, when were you gonna tell me that you're into-."
"Koushi, I promise you, if I was, you would have known by now. Now do you want your surprise or not?"
"Yes, sir."
Koushi couldn't hear Daichi's exact wording, but there was something there about Koushi being the world's biggest dick. A strong set of hands settled on his shoulders.
"Ready?" Daichi whispered in his ear.
"Absolutely," he replied.
Daichi pushed Koushi forward, stopping long enough to open the door to the backroom before pushing Koushi again. Koushi let Daichi guide him into position. He could feel his excitement growing; he had to fight the urge to pull the bandana off.
After a moment, Daichi instructed him to take off the bandana. Koushi complied.
Resting on the break room counter was a set of open acrylic paints, a palette, a water cup full of brushes, and a 29x36 centimeter canvas. Koushi turned to look at Daichi.
"A paint set?"
Daichi motioned towards the counter. Koushi took a few minutes to squeeze some paint onto the palette. He picked up the biggest brush, dipping it in the purple. He turned back to Daichi. Daichi motioned towards the canvas. Koushi raised the brush, the dragged it across the canvas. The brush left a long, purple mark on the canvas, shimmering gently under the lights of the break room.
Then the mark began to spread. Little tendrils of color branched across the surface of the canvas. Koushi dropped the paint brush.
"Daichi, what the fuck-?"
Daichi placed a hand on Koushi's shoulder, grounding him in the moment.
"Transfigured paint. I had a friend of mine teach me how to make it."
"How is it doing that?" Koushi asked. "How am I making it do that?"
"Oh, anyone can use items with minor enchantments on it," Daichi explained. "What we're going to do today is teach you how to control the paint so you make what you want, not what the paint wants to make."
Koushi turned to face Daichi. He threw his arms around Daichi's neck and kissed him hard. Daichi staggered backwards under Koushi's weight. He caught them just before they hit the ground, and laughed against Koushi's lips.
"I take it you're excited," he said in between kisses.
Koushi's pulled back; he was grinning like a fool.
"Let's get painting."