Chapter Text
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Jungkook isn’t jealous. He’s not.
“That’s great, Tae,” Namjoon praises, his voice a low murmur as he stands behind the apprentice, large hands carefully cupped over Taehyung’s as the younger man cradles the glass flask carefully. His newly brewed potion is glowing a pale blue, its light reflected in Taehyung’s eyes as he stares at the contents intently. “Take a moment to centre yourself, there’s no need to rush into the next step until you’re good and ready.”
Taehyung’s shoulders rise and fall as he takes a few slow, deep breaths, and from his seat on the far side of the spacious study, Jungkook finds himself doing the same. He knows he's supposed to be concentrating on his own task, but he can't help watching, especially since this potion is set to be a significant milestone for Taehyung.
“That’s it. Now look deep, feel the beating heart of the elixir, and bind it to your magic…good, hold it steady. You don’t want to offer up more power than it needs. The aim is to be able to transform at will, not to trap yourself in raven-form indefinitely.”
Taehyung’s confident expression falters briefly as a flicker of doubt appears, and the shimmering potion in his grasp darkens immediately to a deeper hue. Without missing a beat, Namjoon taps an index finger against the glass, quickly correcting the slip and stabilising the elixir with minimal effort on his part.
“Concentrate,” the sorcerer reiterates calmly, pressing a gentle kiss to the side of Taehyung’s head. “I’m right here, I won’t let anything happen to you."
The apprentice nods and refocuses his attention on the task at hand, brow furrowing ever so slightly as he stares intently at the flask. For a moment nothing happens, and Jungkook feels a little guilty for the tiny flare of relief that gives him (he loves his fellow sorcerer-in-training to the moon and back, but Tae and Jimin are already miles ahead of him in their apprenticeship, and it isn't fair that they both get to do proper magic and potion-brewing while Jungkook has to read theory and practice basic charms). He tries not to get jealous of their progress, he really does, but seeing them soar higher while he stumbles along the ground is so frustrating. He knows he should find joy in their successes, but in truth, he wishes they were both still beginners like him. Maybe then his own meagre accomplishments would feel more meaningful, more worthy of Namjoon's praise. The magician is constantly complimenting his study notes and his sketches and his grasp of basic spellwork, but Jungkook wants to do more than that. He wants to really impress the sorcerer; to pull off a huge feat of magic and prove to Namjoon that he's capable of keeping pace with Tae and Jimin.
All of sudden, Taehyung sucks in a sharp gasp, and Jungkook glances back towards him just in time to see the elixir form a tiny whirlpool within the cylindrical bowl of the flask, glowing brighter as it transitions from a shimmering blue to a brilliant gold.
"Did I do it right?" Tae asks breathlessly, almost vibrating in place as he cradles the flask reverently. "Did it work?"
Namjoon waves a hand in the air above the neck of the flask, drawing out a tiny cloud of shimmering gold-tinted steam. The vapour shifts into the discernible form of a bird, wings flapping as it hovers in the air beneath Namjoon's palm, before evaporating into steam again and dispersing.
“Perfect. “The sorcerer kisses the side of Taehyung's head again. "Another success, my little bird."
As Taehyung whoops in elation and sets the flask down to turn and throw his arms around Namjoon's neck in a crushing embrace, Jungkook slouches over his own desk despondently, poking at one of the newly-sprouted seedlings with the tip of his finger. It shivers under his touch and grows another half-centimetre to match the height of the other shoots, which would normally be gratifying to watch (making living things thrive is a joy, as Seokjin puts it), but after seeing Taehyung successfully brew an advanced transformative elixir and bend it to his will? His little seedlings suddenly seem very small indeed.
"Kookie, did you see?" Tae enthuses, turning in Namjoon's arms to grin towards him exuberantly. “I did it!”
The youth manages a convincingly happy smile for his friend’s sake, miming clapping his hands in a show of support (he knows better than to actually clap his hands together, because books have a bad habit of flying off shelves whenever he does that).
With a snap of his fingers, Namjoon summons a cork to stopper the neck of the flask, pressing it into Taehyung’s waiting hands.
“Go show your progress to Yoongi,” the sorcerer encourages, clucking his apprentice beneath the chin with a soft smile. “If he thinks you’re ready, and he’s willing to accompany you, I’m happy for you to shift this afternoon.”
Taehyung makes another slightly strangled sound of delight as he throws himself into the magician’s arms again, before darting across the room to Jungkook to press an enthusiastic kiss to the maknae’s lips, hand cupping his jaw as he holds him close for several long seconds. Then Tae’s turning with another joyful laugh and dashing out of the door at full-sprint, accidentally knocking a few leaves of parchment to the floor in his haste. Rapid footsteps echo against the stone of the spiral staircase as Taehyung descends from the tower towards the main area of the house, and Namjoon chuckles fondly, waving at the scattered sheets of paper to send them fluttering back into the air, neatly stacking themselves by the inkwell on Taehyung’s desk.
With the other apprentice gone and therefore unable to see his expression, Jungkook slumps in his seat again, reluctantly returning his attention to his own studies. Herb-lore is fascinating, and he understands that a basic comprehension of the art is essential for any magic-wielder who intends to brew potions, but it’s just…not particularly exciting compared to the complex defensive magic that Hoseok has started teaching Jimin, or the delicate elixir-brewing that Tae has quickly begun to master. Jungkook wants to do that, too. He knows he’s younger than his fellow apprentices, but his magic is strong, and if Namjoon were to actually let him practice more complex charms and incantations, Jungkook’s sure he could catch up with the others eventually.
“Looking a little glum there, bun,” Namjoon murmurs, coming up behind Jungkook’s seat to settle large, warm hands on the youth’s shoulders. “Need any help? Oh, they’ve already sprouted, good work. You’ve really mastered the germinating technique these past few days.”
Jungkook preens at the praise, smiling as the sorcerer drops a kiss against the crown of his head. The row of miniature plant-pots lined up along his desk each house a tiny green shoot, and Jungkook had been extra careful to make sure they were all roughly the same height, in an effort to show Namjoon that he’s definitely ready to tackle something more challenging; something more worthy of the sorcerer’s heartfelt congratulations.
“Let’s move on to a new topic, hm?” Namjoon suggests, and Jungkook perks up, hope stirring in his chest. The magician extends an arm towards the numerous bookcases that line the high walls from floor to ceiling, and a leather-bound tome comes whizzing across the study and into his waiting grasp. “I understand you’ve previously studied nettles and their properties with Hoseok. Would you like to learn how to brew a healing draught to draw out a fever?”
The youth’s enthusiasm deflates a little at the prospect of more herbalism (brewing draughts is no more complex than making tea, half the time), and he tilts his head back to rest against Namjoon’s stomach, peering up at the sorcerer as Namjoon continues to leaf through the book.
“Could…could we maybe do something else today?”
“Mm?” Namjoon hums curiously, free hand moving to pet Jungkook’s head as he skim-reads through a page of text. “What did you have in mind, little one?”
Jungkook hesitates briefly, bottom lip caught between his teeth. “An elixir? Like the one Tae just made?”
The sorcerer’s gaze flickers up, the brief look of surprise quickly softening to something fond and indulgent, fingertips gently smoothing across the youth’s forehead.
“Creating elixirs is an advanced form of potion-brewing, Kookie,” Namjoon reminds him kindly. “It takes a lot of practice, and requires a higher level of control over one’s magic. The technique is a little too complex for you just now, but it’s something we can work towards, alright?” The magician goes back to perusing the open book. “Perhaps we could look at poultices…”
Jungkook knows the sorcerer isn’t trying to be hurtful, but that doesn’t stop the words from stinging. He can’t help but take it personally. Namjoon clearly doesn’t have a lot of confidence in his maknae’s magical abilities. Why would he? Jungkook’s been germinating seeds and snuffing out lit candles with his magic while Tae and Jimin have been summoning objects from the other side of the house and learning how to shapeshift. The only significant feat of magic Jungkook can boast of lately is blowing the stable door off its hinges last month (frightening the poor griffins in the process), and that had been purely accidental, triggered by an uncontrollable sneezing fit.
The hyungs had ruffled his hair and teased him about it for days afterwards (once Jin had coaxed a bitter healing draught or two down his throat to prevent any further ‘accidents’ as a result of his head-cold), but they’d all been genuinely impressed by the strength behind his magical outburst, and Jungkook can’t help but think longingly of the day when he can do something like that again without it being an accident.
He won’t be improving his skills anytime soon if he’s stuck learning herb-lore, though.
“I’ve studied all the theory behind transformative elixirs,” he argues plaintively, head still tipped back against the sorcerer’s midriff. “I really think I could do it.”
“I know you like reading ahead, bun,” Namjoon answers distractedly, fingers now carding through his hair. “But theory and practice are two different battles. You need to build up your control gradually, if you jump straight to advanced binding charms without the adequate training, it’ll blow up in your face. Quite literally.”
Jungkook can already tell it’s a losing battle, and that irks him more than it should. He’ll freely admit to being a little too stubborn for his own good, a habit that often lands him in trouble with the hyungs, but sometimes it feels like they aren’t really listening to his grievances, and his temper inevitably begins to fray.
“Then teach me,” he implores, a soft whine of frustration creeping into his voice despite his best efforts to remain unaffected. “I know how to control my magic, I’m not a child. I even managed to water-bend last week-”
Namjoon closes the leather-bound tome with an echoing thunk, his gaze cutting downwards to stare at his apprentice intently.
“Who taught you?” the sorcerer asks, deceptively calm. “Tae? Jiminie?”
Jungkook shakes his head quickly, feeling nervous butterflies erupt in his stomach at the magician’s expression. In his attempt to convince Namjoon that he’s ready to practice more advanced techniques, he might have just confessed to breaking one of the sorcerer’s biggest ground rules.
“I…nobody,” he confesses haltingly, because he’s never been able to lie to any of the hyungs, and Namjoon would see straight through it anyway. “Jin-hyung let me read some of his travel journals. There were notes on different water-bending techniques from Geojedo island…I only tried one or two, hyung.”
The book slips from Namjoon’s grasp and goes flying back across the room to re-insert itself into the bookcase. The sorcerer abruptly spins Jungkook’s chair around to face him, the wooden legs screeching sharply against the floorboards, and the apprentice ducks his gaze from his tutor’s face to avoid seeing the inevitable disappoint there.
“Look at me.” Fingers gently pinch Jungkook’s chin to tilt it back up, forcing the apprentice to meet Namjoon’s serious gaze. “Elemental magic is dangerous, Kook. You know better than to practice a new technique without instruction.”
Despite the twinge of guilt in his chest, and desperately feeling like he wants the floor to open up and swallow him whole, he can sense his previous frustration bubbling back up to the surface against his better judgement.
“But I never get to do anything,” he gripes, the heel of his boot thunking against the leg of the chair. Later, he’ll probably feel embarrassed about his outburst, but at the moment he’s too caught up in his emotions to think straight. “It’s not fair.”
“Jungkook,” Namjoon warns, and the youth’s stomach twists nervously at the firm not of censure. Ai, that’s not good. That’s very not-good. “I don’t appreciate your tone right now.”
The apprentice winces internally, ducking his head again, shamefaced. “Sorry.”
He hears Namjoon gust out a sigh, and the fingers on his chin move to caress his cheek instead, the sorcerer leaning down until they’re on a level and Jungkook can’t avoid his gaze anymore.
“You’re a smart boy, Kookie, but you’re too impulsive,” Namjoon murmurs, cupping the side of his face. “The rules exist for your own protection; you can’t just keep ignoring them every time you grow bored of your studies.” He sighs again, looking calm but resolute. “I think you and I ought to have a little discussion to help that lesson sink in.”
Well shit.
This wasn’t how Jungkook had intended things to turn out at all.
…
Seokjin’s lap is an excellent place to sulk.
Not that Jungkook’s sulking. He’s just silently contemplating his woefully unfair circumstances, and if his bottom lip happens to be jutting out a little more prominently than usual, that’s entirely coincidental. Besides, it’s not like anyone can actually see him, what with his face hidden against Jin’s shirtfront.
“Now darling, you know Joonie only wants to keep you safe and whole,” the water-witch soothes, a hand rubbing gently between Jungkook’s shoulders as the apprentice lays on his side across the chaise-lounge, head and shoulders resting on a cushion in Jin’s lap. “None of us enjoy scolding you. I ought to have been more careful about lending you those journals, but really, you should know better than to play with water-bending. It’s a complex art form, not a magic trick.”
“But it worked,” Jungkook insists plaintively. “I used it to pull water from the well.”
It had taken him almost an hour to get a bucketful, and he’d been breathless and bone-weary and shaking a little by the end of it, but the point is he’d done it.
“And I’m willing to bet it drained your energy for the rest of the day,” Jin tacks on knowingly. His fingers sink into Jungkook’s hair, cradling his head closer to his midriff. “When your magic has bloomed sufficiently, I’ll teach you everything you could ever wish to know about elemental magic, I promise. But until then, it’s forbidden. You need to be patient, my love.”
Jungkook sighs forlornly. He doesn’t enjoy being patient; he’s always been a do-it-now sort of person (which is probably why Namjoon called him impulsive, come to think of it), and knowing that he’s months or potentially even years away from being allowed to practice the kind of advanced techniques that the others use? Ugh, he hates it.
Rolling over with a wince (perhaps a little exaggerated, because Jin never fails to dote on him post-discipline, and sympathy kisses are the best), Jungkook pouts up at the witch. His backside doesn’t even sting all that much anymore, more of a lingering uncomfortable warmth than actual physical pain, but Jin doesn’t need to know that.
“I just want to learn, hyung,” he whines. “I’m not even allowed sit in on Jimin-hyung’s defensive lessons.”
Jin taps his nose, gazing down at him fondly. “That’s because you’d likely try and copy the techniques in secret, trouble. None of us are willing to take that risk, Yoongi especially. You know how protective he is.”
It’s a perfectly logical explanation, but not at all what Jungkook wants to hear right now when he’s determined to keep feeling sorry for himself.
Seeing his sulky expression, Seokjin smiles and cups his face, leaning down to rub their noses together. The sound of approaching footsteps interrupts what could have been a very nice kiss, and Jungkook rolls over to face the closed door of the parlour as someone knocks on it.
“Hyung?” Jimin calls, poking his head inside, smiling brightly. His gaze flickers towards the apprentice in Jin’s lap. “Oh, hey bun.” Apparently he registers the maknae’s current side-lying position and red-rimmed eyes and comes to the correct conclusion. “Aish, Kookie, again? What did you do this time?”
Jungkook tries to glare at him, but he feels like the pout maybe diminishes its effectiveness a little.
“Leave him be,” Seokjin chides, but he’s still smiling. “Did you need something, petal? I thought you were training with Hobi?”
“We finished the hunt sooner than expected,” Jimin replies as he saunters across the parlour to perch on the edge of the chaise-lounge. He leans in to peck a chaste kiss against Seokjin’s lips, likely so that the elder doesn’t notice Jimin’s hand sneaking around to teasingly squeeze Jungkook’s tender rump.
With a soft squeak of surprise, Jungkook bats at him irritably, Jimin laughing as he breaks away from Jin’s lips to capture the maknae’s hands easily.
“Cutie,” the older apprentice teases, leaning down to kiss Jungkook as well, and the youth quickly decides to let go of his anger in favour of pushing up into the kiss.
“Taehyungie didn’t come home with you?” Jin asks, his hand still rubbing soothingly up and down Jungkook’s spine.
Jimin makes a negative ‘hn-nn’ sound against Jungkook’s lips, kissing him more deeply for a moment, fingers sinking into the maknae’s hair. After half a minute or so, he pulls back, only to lean in again and bush a dozen soft, tickling kisses from the corner of his mouth and along his jawline all the way up to his ear. Jungkook forgets all about his previous sulking and his recent trip over Namjoon’s knee, giggling as he half-heartedly pushes the elder away to stop the tickly assault.
“There’s my happy bun.” Jimin sits back again with a satisfied grin, playfully ruffling Jungkook’s hair, before finally returning his attention to a patiently-waiting Jin. “Yoongi-hyung and Tae broke away from the hunt on the way home, I think they’re doing an aerial patrol.”
The water-witch’s forehead creases in a faint frown. “Tae’s never been in shift for longer than an hour before.”
“He’s been practicing,” Jimin insists loyally. “The first couple of patrols are always a little tiring, but I’m sure Yoongi-hyung won’t push him too hard.”
Jin doesn’t look very reassured. He sighs, gives Jungkook’s back one last rub, then hooks his hands beneath the youth’s arms to help lever him upright. Jungkook makes another soft noise of protest as his weight shifts onto his sensitive hindquarters, and Jin kisses his cheek in apology.
“I need to talk to Joon.” The witch touches a hand to Jimin’s cheek. “Would you mind making a start on supper for me? The stew can be left alone to simmer, but there’s dough rising in the pantry, it’ll want kneading again.”
“Sure,” Jimin chirps cheerfully, and receives his own kiss by way of a reward.
“And perhaps you could pick something sweet to go in a crumble?” Jin continues, turning his soft gaze towards Jungkook again. “Anything you like, poppet, it’s your treat.”
Jungkook thinks of the huge, glossy blackberries that grow along the hedgerows surrounding Seokjin’s rose garden, and feels his mouth begin to water, nodding quickly. Perhaps today isn’t so terrible after all.
…
His basket of berries is almost full when the wolf attacks.
Fingers and lips sticky with purple juice (naturally he’d tasted a few during the course of his picking to make sure they were all ripe) as he hums cheerfully to himself, Jungkook remains blissfully unaware of the approaching predator until it’s too late. Something tingles at the back of his neck, a peripheral awareness of another powerful being nearby, and by the time he’s turned to glance sideways up the path, the black beast is already charging at him.
Jungkook manages to bring up his arms defensively a split second before the wolf pounces, his fingers pushing against the thick fur of the beast’s dark coat even as he topples over from his crouched position, letting out a pained grunt when his butt hits the ground hard as he’s knocked onto his back.
The wolf above him pauses, one giant paw pressed against Jungkook’s sternum as he stares down at the felled apprentice, head cocked to one side.
“Ow,” Jungkook croaks, because if Hoseok’s worried about him, he intends to milk that for all it’s worth. “Hyung, that hurt.”
With a soft whine, Hoseok ducks his head to snuffle at Jungkook’s throat and along his jawline, cold nose tickling the skin there. Then the canine huffs, clearly discerning by Jungkook’s scent that he has no significant injures, and begins to lave every accessible inch of his face and neck with his hot, rough tounge.
“Gah!” Jungkook reacts, a laugh bursting out of him as he tries (and abysmally fails) to push the giant wolf off him. “Hyung, no, stop! I have t- hyung! Berries, I promised Jin-hyung, gah, berries!”
Hoseok abruptly removes his restraining paw and sits back on his haunches, tongue lolling in a canine grin as he regards Jungkook with obvious amusement, tail swishing audibly back and forth against the pavestone path.
“Meanie,” the youth accuses breathlessly, but there’s a grin curling at his mouth as he pushes himself up into a sitting expression.
He quickly remembers why he’d been squatting rather than sitting on his heels, and rolls to his knees with a faint grimace, something that unfortunately doesn’t escape the wolf’s notice. Hoseok cocks his head to one side again, ears perking up as his tail-wagging slows, and Jungkook groans, turning back to the blackberry bushes to resume his task.
“Don’t ask,” he sighs, neatly plucking fat, ripe berries and dropping them into his basked.
By tomorrow the enchanted hedgerow will have regrown most of its fruit, but it’ll take a few more days for the new blackberries to ripen – perhaps they’ll be ready by the weekend, and he can help Seokjin make tarts and preserves. Namjoon doesn’t let him study as much at the weekend, so there’s always ample time for other pursuits – although truthfully Jungkook would much prefer to sequester himself away in the sorcerer’s tower or Yoongi’s library to further his knowledge. He tries to escape there sometimes while the others are busy, but Yoongi always comes to find him and drag him back out again despite his many protests.
A large, dark snout appears beside Jungkook’s face, the weight of the wolf’s head resting on his left shoulder. The youth continues picking for a few silent minutes, determinedly ignoring the obvious coercion tactic (if he glances sideways at Hoseok, the wolf will be giving him a look for sure), and eventually the elder withdraws again. For a split second Jungkook counts that as a victory, naively assuming that his hyung has given up trying to coax the truth out of him.
But then there’s a sharp pinch to his butt-cheek.
Jungkook almost throws the basket over his shoulder in surprise, startling with a yelp as his hand whips around to cover the sensitive area, shooting a scandalised look towards the wolf who’s settled back calmly on his haunches again.
“You bit me!”
Well, it hadn’t really been a bite, more of a gentle nip, but still.
The wolf shrugs, unrepentant. The very human gesture should look unnatural in canine form, but honestly, Hoseok’s done far stranger things during a shift (like try to play a minuet on Yoongi’s harpsichord), so Jungkook’s grown rather indifferent to his un-wolf-like mannerisms.
“Fine,” Jungkook relents with another sigh, turning back around again and reaching for a particularly juicy-looking blackberry a little further in. Popping it into his mouth, he bites down and savours the burst of sweet-tart juice on his tongue. “I tried water-bending the other day, and Namjoon-hyung only just found out. He wasn’t very happy.”
There’s a long beat of silence as he chews and swallows, and he’s about to reach for the basket of berries (he’s picked more than enough for a crumble even if he snacks on a few more before dinner, and he doesn’t want to strip the bushes bare even if the they’re enchanted to produce new fruit overnight, just in case the local wildlife gets peckish before it ripens), when something tugs sharply on the collar of his tunic, almost lifting his knees off the ground, as a low growl rumbles from directly behind him.
The wolf holds him by the scruff and gives him a good, hard shake, Jungkook flails and tries to keep from losing his balance, glad that he opted for kneeling rather than squatting this time.
“I know it was dumb, the hyungs already scolded me,” he insists plaintively, sagging in the wolf’s hold (because pulling against it only prolongs things, from previous experience). As predicted, Hoseok stops shaking him, but doesn’t relinquish his grip. “I didn’t mean to put myself in danger. I was just…Tae and Jimin get to do everything. I just wanted to know what it felt like to do real magic for once. I wanted to show Namjoon-hyung that I’m not just a stupid novice, but now he’s mad at me.”
He hears the wobble in his voice and curses inwardly, blinking several times when his eyes begin to sting threateningly. Jungkook’s not upset, he’s not, he’s just…frustrated. With himself, with his slow scholastic progress, with his hyungs for shielding him from anything and everything remotely dangerous even though he’s a fully grown adult and not in need of their constant protection.
The wolf releases his grip on Jungkook’s shirt, and there’s a there’s a brief gust of wind behind him that ruffles his hair at the back, before human arms suddenly wrap around him.
“Nobody thinks you’re a stupid novice, Kookie,” Hoseok murmurs against the shell of Jungkook’s ear. “You’re kind and clever and brilliant, and we love you. Joonie isn’t angry with you, bun, he never is. He might be upset about what you’ve done, and maybe a little frustrated that you put yourself in harm’s way again, but he could never stay mad at you.”
Jungkook relaxes back against Hoseok’s chest, hugging tightly to the elder’s arms. “You’re sure?”
“Positive,” the shapeshifter confirms, kissing the side of his head. “We both know you’re his favourite.”
It isn’t true, because Namjoon’s doting and affectionate with all of them, but it feels nice to hear it all the same, a fluttery warmth filling his chest.
“And don’t worry about trying to impress him,” Hoseok continues, rocking them both slowly from side to side. “He already thinks the world of you. Write him an essay on wood sorrel or a fruit tart recipe and he’d probably still have it framed.”
Jungkook laughs at the ridiculous statement, and feels lighter for it. Hoseok always manages to clear away the gloom, the shifter’s got a knack for cheering him up.
“That’s more like it,” Hoseok murmurs, nuzzling his hair again. “Can’t have my favourite bunny feeling blue, it’d break all our hearts. C’mere, let me kiss you.”
He twists his upper body around in the man’s arms, tilting his head back a bit and smiling as Hoseok leans in to slot their mouths together lingeringly. Jungkook shuffles on his knees to turn around a little more and wind his arms around Hoseok’s neck, sighing into the kiss contentedly.
After a moment he’s heaved to his feet, squeaking in surprise against Hoseok’s mouth as the shifter laughs, hands settling on the maknae’s hips to steady him.
“We should probably go drop those berries off in the kitchen if we want dessert this evening.” Hoseok presses a final, chaste kiss to his lips before stepping away to collect the basket of berries, hooking it over his arm and offering his free hand to Jungkook. “Coming, beautiful?”
Interweaving their fingers together, Jungkook lets himself be tugged through the rose garden and back towards the manor house, a newfound spring in his step and a bright, happy smile on his face.
…
“It’s late, bun.”
At Yoongi’s gently chiding tone, Jungkook glances up towards the bedroom door with a shy, guilty smile, quickly closing the large leather-bound tome on woodland fungi and pushing it away.
“I know, but I’m almost done,” he wheedles, holding his arms out towards the sorcerer with hopeful tilt of his head.
Jungkook knows that cuteness is his biggest (and perhaps only) strength when it comes to getting his way with Yoongi, especially at this late hour - his charms always work best in warm candlelight when he’s wearing a baggy nightshirt and looking particularly lonesome in the middle of his giant four-poster bed. He doesn’t usually like sleeping in here alone, and tends to spend most nights with Jimin and Taehyung in their bedroom, occasionally joined by an additional hyung. But he’d made excuses tonight about needing to finish some study notes, and since Taehyung was still so drained from his prolonged flight with Yoongi, Jimin had been too preoccupied trying to get his fellow apprentice washed and dressed and into bed to ask questions about Jungkook’s sudden desperation to study herb-lore. Yoongi, however, might ask one too many questions, so Jungkook’s safest bet is to appeal to his hyung’s softer side and promise that he’ll be done with his studies soon.
“What’s got you so keen tonight?” Yoongi asks fondly, responding to Jungkook’s wordless request and crossing over to the bed to slip in beside him, wrapping his arms around the youth. “Hm? I know you’re a bookworm, but you don’t usually burn the midnight oil like this.”
Listing sideways to lean against him, Jungkook shrugs, fingers curling around the elder’s forearm to anker it in close.
“Guess I wanna make it up to Joon-hyung,” he answers, and it’s not a lie, not technically. “We didn’t get to finish my lesson after he…you know…”
“Took you over his knee and paddled your disobedient backside?” Yoongi finishes for him.
Jungkook moves to thwack his arm in protest, cringing. “Hyuuung! Don’t put it like that, it sounds so childish…”
“Mmhm,” the elder agrees calmly, catching his hand neatly and tucking it down against Jungkook’s chest, snugly restrained. “It’s fitting. You broke a rule and threw a tantrum in Joon’s study. I would’ve paddled you too, kid.”
Squirming half-heartedly at the deliberately infantile wording, his cheeks aflame, Jungkook sends Yoongi his truest, most sincere pout. “Hyung.”
Yoongi’s impassive expression breaks into a gummy smile, and he tucks Jungkook closer against his side, pressing a kiss to the youth’s temple.
“You’re such a baby,” he teases, his voice rich with fondness. “Our baby bun. Aish, stop pulling that face, you’re killing me here.”
Jungkook giggles as fingers dig into his ribcage, flailing beneath Yoongi’s hold to escape the tickling. His kicking almost sends the discarded book on fungi tumbling out of bed, but Jungkook manages to catch it at the last moment, quickly stuffing it beneath the bedsheets before Yoongi succeeds in wrestling him down against the mattress. Laughing, he clutches at the elder’s shoulders, head tipped back as the sorcerer playfully nips at his throat, pressing kisses to the skin there.
This could go one of two ways, Jungkook knows that. There’s often only a fine line between a cosy cuddle and something a little more intimate, and while he’d normally be fully amenable to the latter option, Jungkook has a bad habit of falling asleep afterwards (especially when it’s Yoongi, that man is a force of nature between the sheets), and tonight he can’t risk that. He needs to stay awake.
Oh, but it feels good though. Yoongi’s mouth on the base of his throat, fingers gently loosening the ties of his loose nightshirt, pushing the fabric aside to brush tender kisses along his collarbone.
Jungkook can already feel his willpower fading, and he’s got about five seconds to act before Yoongi does something that will make him throw all his previous plans out the window and give into temptation.
“Hyung,” he manages, his voice breathy and uneven. “I…I need to finish studying. Can we…tomorrow? Please?”
Yoongi lifts his head from the mark he’s been sucking on Jungkook’s collarbone, pressing a gentle, less heated kiss to his lips instead. If he’s surprised by the apprentice turning down the offer of nocturnal intimacy (a first for Jungkook), it doesn’t show in his expression, his gaze still fond as shares a few soft, lingering kisses.
“Tomorrow,” he agrees easily, and rubs his nose against Jungkook’s. “But don’t stay up too late. If your nose is still in that book when I come back to check on you, I’m turning it into a hat until sunrise.”
It’s not an empty threat, however teasingly spoken. Jimin had once thrown ink at the sorcerer in a moment of frustration, and Yoongi had turned the apprentice’s chair into a large, uneven hunk of rock. Sitting on a regular stool with a warmed backside for several hours is often unpleasant enough, but the hard, unforgiving surface of that rock must have felt awful. Needless to say, Jimin never threw his inkwell at anyone ever again.
“I’ll turn out the lights soon,” he promises, and is rewarded with another gentle kiss and a lingering caress to his cheek before Yoongi rolls off him and out of bed.
“Sweet dreams, bunbun,” the sorcerer murmurs from the doorway, smiling at him fondly.
Jungkook hugs a pillow to his chest and smiles back at him, cheeks still flushed and stomach still feeling a little hot and fluttery.
“Sweet dreams, hyung.”
As the door closes behind him, Jungkook flops back against the padded headboard with a quiet sigh, hugging the pillow tighter to his chest. That had been close. Too close.
Slipping his hand beneath the bedsheets, he pulls out the large leather-bound tome, opening it to his previous page and gathering up the loose leaves of parchment that detail the theory behind brewing transformative elixirs. Taehyung won’t miss them, he and Jimin will be dead to the world until morning, so he has plenty of time to study them before he sneaks into Namjoon’s study to practice. He won’t do a proper binding elixir, he’ll just stop after he reaches the final step of the brewing process, once the potion turns that shimmering blue colour. If he doesn’t try binding it to his will, there’s no significant risk, right? And when Namjoon finds the flask on his desk in the morning, he’ll know that Jungkook is capable of more than just germinating seedlings.
He’ll need to blow out the candles and pretend to sleep for an hour or two, at least until Yoongi has finally gone to bed. Once the coast is clear he should be able to make it to the tower unhindered.
Everything’s going to work out just fine.
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Thanks for reading, fam! That's me off to work now, see you when I get back. :)