Archive of Our Own

Somewhere, far away, Yoongi hears Jimin call out for him. He sounds scared. Yoongi frowns. The lighter grows heavier in his hand. The voice becomes more incessant in his ear.

"Light the candle." The flint wheel gives way easily under Yoongi's thumb. The fire is almost too bright. Too blue. "Light the candle."

Something is not quite right.

Taehyung's voice is muffled, and just as scared as Jimin's. There are words there, between the fear, but Yoongi can't decipher them.

The ground shivers, or maybe it's Yoongi, or maybe it's the weight of whatever is crouched on his shoulder. Yoongi - but not Yoongi; no, not Yoongi at all - lifts the lighter to the candle wick.

Yoongi lights the candle.

The light bursts outward; a shock wave of blue and red and black and searing cold. Yoongi is flung back onto the floor.

"Finally!" That same voice from before is elated, now; voice giddy with excitement. There is laughter in its words. The weight on Yoongi's shoulder had left the moment the fire had touched the candle. "Three hundred years I've waited! Finally!"

There are hands on him, and Yoongi is being pulled to his feet. The ground - definitely the ground this time - is shivering and groaning and too-bright. "Hyung, hyung are you okay?" Taehyung's voice is in his ear this time. It is a welcome change from the chilled; unfamiliar voice that had pressed so heavily against the side of his head. Yoongi, that odd haze slowly seeping from his bones, manages a shaky nod.

"What is going on?" Jimin's voice is desperate with confusion and fear. Yoongi, his heart pounding, searches for him blindly. Hands, familiar and small and safe, grip his tightly. "Hyung, you scared me so much. What the fuck is that? What is happening?" Yoongi turns his head to the side, and sees Jimin pressed to against him; wide eyes staring at something in the middle of the room. Yoongi turns his gaze, as well.

There is a black cat in the middle of the table, circling the candle impatiently. Its tail swishes from side to side rapidly. The flame grows high and is, impossibly, pitch black. "I don't know," Yoongi whispers. He is unable to tear his eyes away as the candle flame shivers and dances.

There is a loud, heavy thud from somewhere in the kitchen. The three jump as one; all pressed together as tightly as they can be. "We need to leave," Taehyung says. They all nod in silent agreement, but none of them move. Their feet are stuck to the ground; held by something invisible. Maybe it's fear. Maybe it's something else. Now, it doesn't matter if it's Yoongi or the ground shaking, because it is all three of them; shivering and scared and confused.

Shhhhhhhhhhh something slides across the floor at a rapid pace, getting nearer. Yoongi wrenches himself of that frozen fear, and tugs them all to the side. They stumble, an uncoordinated mass, out of the way as the Book of Shadows from the kitchen rushes past them. "Holy fuck," Taehyung breathes. His fingers curl tighter into Yoongi's arm as they watch the Book lift into the air, slow and calculated, before dropping onto the table with a sharp thunk.The book slams open with an invisible force; pages turning so quickly the sounds all meld together in one second. And then, just as quickly as it started, it all stopped. The pages halt to a rest; the book laying open to a page covered every inch in scribbled words in a hurried hand so densely that the pages look almost entirely black. The ground stops shaking; the wood ceases its groaning. The cat, finally, settles down to peer down at the open Book. The black flame of the candle still sways wildly.

The cat's mouth opens again. "Finally," that same voice from before whispers. It sounds a little like crying; the word bogged down with something wet. It takes Yoongi a long, long moment for him to process what is happening. That voice is coming from the cat. Somehow, of all the impossible things that had happened so far, that was the one that shook him to the core the most. "God, it's been so long."

The black flame rises higher and higher; the thin flame bends and moves and almost touches the ceiling. Yoongi can feel the heat of the flame on his skin even from feet away. 

"Wake up already, you lazy bastards," the wet voice - the cat, the fucking cat- hisses. The flame, just like that, disappears. Thick gray smoke rises from the wick; curling and dancing into the air.

The front door slams open. The three men jump in unison once more; clinging to each other somehow even as they spin around. There are figures standing in the doorway. Yoongi tenses his body; readies himself to lunge as a figure runs toward them. The dim overhead light is suddenly barely enough light to see in contrast to that sharp, unnatural glow of the candle. The figure, shadowed and fast, reaches them before Yoongi can do anything besides wiggle out of their arms and step in front of Taehyung and Jimin. The figure does not attack them. It does not punch or hiss or even pay them any heed. It, instead, runs past them. The three turn in time to see the figure collapse to its knees in front of the table. The figure is clad in an emerald cloak. "Jin," the figure says; voice heavy and shaking and so sad. Yoongi feels a flash of something like sympathy run through him, which feels odd and disjointed when he's probably still supposed to be terrified. "Jin, oh, God. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. You did so well. You did so well, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I left you here. God, I'm so sorry." The figure is certainly crying by now. They push their hood down; it's a man with auburn hair in a mess of tangles. He was crying; shoulders shaking as he reaches his arms out to the cat just in time to catch it as it leaps forward. The man leans back onto his heels to cradle the cat in his arms tightly; hugging it to his chest. He buries his face in its fur; words muffled. "I'm so sorry. God. I'm so sorry, I tried my best. I tried so hard, Jin. I'm so sorry."

The cat opens its mouth. The sound is unlike anything Yoongi had heard before. It is a cry and a mewl and a man's broken wail. The cat sobs, "You're back, you're back, you're back." That same flash of pain nestled deep in Yoongi's chest at the tears, perhaps its own; perhaps the man's, rolling down the cat's face. It lingers for far longer this time. Something sad and relieved and fatigued settles in the air. Yoongi looks at the sight, at the two impossibles cradling each other; crying together so loudly, and feels exhausted. 

Jimin's surprised yell tears Yoongi out of his reverie. Gone is the sadness, the tiredness. Instead it is replaced with pure, white hot terror as he feels Jimin's hands ripped from him. Yoongi spins in time to see Jimin being flung to the ground by some sort of invisible force. Yoongi doesn't know who or what or how but he does know that a second figure was standing over Jimin's form; shoulders raised like hackles. "Who the fuck are you, and why are you in our house?" The voice, male, spits. Yoongi is moving before he realizes.

Another voice, somewhere behind him, calls out a warning, "Jungkook! Stop!" but Yoongi pays no heed as he reels his arm back, and swings. The figure turns just in time to catch the brunt of Yoongi's punch on the corner of his jaw. Yoongi felt that old friend, the pain of a badly placed punch, shoot through his fist. The figure stumbles backwards and falls to the ground heavily. The hood falls off of their head; purple pooling around their shoulders. A man glowers back up at Yoongi, defiant and volatile.

"You," Yoongi snarls. He feels that old, old anger twisting and climbing back up his throat. It had been a long time, but he would have no qualms about doing it again. Old rules and promises were fine being broken if it was for Jimin. "don't you dare fucking touch him again, you hear me?"

The man was young; hair wild and blond. His eyes are just as wild; fiery as he lunges up. Yoongi bristles; readies for the punch he knows is coming - 

"Jungkook! I said stop!" A voice halts the both of them. The man freezes mid step toward Yoongi, glowering. He's breathing heavily; eyes darting around the room. Yoongi furrows his eyebrows. It certainly wasn't the look of someone ready to fight. He looked scared.

Why do they all seem so scared? Yoongi has a moment to think, before someone is hurrying past him. A red cloak this time. Their hood is already down. Another man grabs the man in the purple cloak and pushes him backwards firmly. "Hyung, but they - we don't know - they could be the same as before." The man in the purple cloak is stuttering; chest still heaving as his eyes latch onto Yoongi. He stares skeptically. 

"It's okay. They're long gone, Jungkook." Red is talking to Purple quietly, now; hands gripping his arms firmly. Purple hasn't taken his eyes off Yoongi yet. "Jungkook, look at me. Look at me." Finally, Purple tears his eyes away from Yoongi. Red's hands come to rest on the sides of his face; thumbs rubbing across his cheeks. "We're okay. They can't get us here. We made it, okay? Okay? Say it back to me, Jungkook."

Purple - Jungkook - takes a long, loud, and gasping breath before, "We're okay," tumbles past his lips. And then he's crying, too; folding himself into Red's arms. He looks so large when he fits himself into Red's slimmer stature, but it works. Red winds his arms around him easily, and begins to rock them both gently from side to side. One of them, or both of them, maybe, keeps repeating those words over and over as if they don't quite believe it.

Jimin. Yoongi's mind supplies, and the strange men are forgotten as Yoongi spins around. "Jimin!" Taehyung had already gotten Jimin to his feet, and is currently looking Jimin over worriedly. Yoongi hurries back to them, and wastes no time scooping him up into a fierce hug. "Jimin, are you okay? What the fuck happened? Are you hurt? I swear I'll fucking end him - "

"I'm fine, hyung," Jimin's voice is firm even though he's visibly shaken. His smile, too, is soft but real. He carefully peels himself away from Yoongi. "I'm okay. It just surprised me. I'm not hurt. I don't even know what happened. It was like - like this force pushed me back." Taehyung and Yoongi exchange a glance. Jimin huffs loudly, "Quit that, you two! I said I'm fine. But we need to get out of here. I don't know what's going on and frankly I don't want to know. I just want to get some fucking waffles and drink myself to sleep."

"Afuckingmen to that," Taehyung mutters.

Yoongi looks back over his shoulder. All three men are now sitting on the floor in front of the table, huddled together and crying. Yoongi felt bad for them. But he also wants to get the fuck out as soon as possible. "Come on," he says, and begins to usher the two towards the door. "Let's go while they're distracted." And so they try, a clumsy; frightened mess of legs and hands that refuse to let go of each other, to shuffle towards the door as quietly as possible. The cabin is not large at all. It's small and compact and they make it toward the door in a handful of large strides. Yoongi, relief washing through him, hurries their steps. Feet from the open door, and it slams in their faces.

The exclaims the three made were high pitched and, in any other circumstances, would have warranted teasing. This, however, was definitely not any other circumstance. "Oh for fuck's sake," Taehyung hisses, and wraps both hands around the doorknob to try and pry it open. It doesn't budge. Doesn't even turn slightly. "Come on! I just want waffles, god dammit!"

"I'm afraid we can't let you leave just yet."

"Fuck me," Yoongi mutters under his breath. He sighs, rests his head against the door for a second in resignation, and finally turns to face the men again. The three, and the cat, are staring at them. They somehow managed to look intimidating, even with tear tracks not quite dry on their cheeks and in a large; awkward hug. "Look, I don't know what the fuck is going on here, but we don't want anything to do with it, okay?"

The first man, the one in green, untangles himself from the others and stands slowly. The cat jumps onto the table, and then onto the man's shoulders. It's tail curls around the base of his neck as it balances easily. "I'm sorry to say you don't really have a choice. None of us do." He steps forward, in front of the others.

Yoongi scowls, and steps forward as well; ignores their protests as he presses the two back into the door behind him. "I think we really fucking do. Now either you're gonna let us out or I'll make you."

"Hyung, he's like two feet taller than you," Jimin whispers in his ear. "You can't take him, even without the freaky powers."

Taehyung, despite the situation, can't seem to stop a snicker from escaping him. Yoongi tries his best to subtly elbow them both. "Ow. I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't have to, you ass," Yoongi mutters over his shoulder. He huffs, and turns his attention back to the strange men. "What the hell do you want with us? Haven't you put us through enough shit already?"

Green sighs, heavy and loud. "Look, we all were - we all were, uh, surprised. We should talk this out calmly. There is a lot to explain."

"Explain?" Yoongi scoffs. "No thanks. Just let us leave and we can forget this ever happened. Whatever this even is."

"We can't do that," Red says. He stands, too, and pulls Jungkook up with him. "We'll need your help, I think."

"Help?" Jimin croaks. "You attacked us!"

Red sends a sharp glare to Jungkook, who wilts a little. At least he has the decency, Yoongi thinks, to look sheepish.

"Yes, and he's very sorry about it. Aren't you?" Jungkook, defiantly, says nothing and glowers away from them all. A sharp nudge from Red has him grumbling incoherently. "Aren't you?"

Jungkook heaved a great, reluctant sigh. His lips purse as he grinds out, "Fine. I'm sorry. Happy?" The question is directed at Red, who is still frowning.

"I would be if you'd stop acting like a five year old."

Jungkook's pout only deepens.

"Anyway," Green interrupts. "We won't hurt you. Jungkook was just - well. The last time we were uh... corporeal we were almost killed. So. You know. Emotions run a little high when you suddenly have your body back after a few hundred years."

Somehow, despite all of the shit Yoongi had just seen, he couldn't help but be bewildered by this. "A few hundred? Corporeal? What in the ever loving fuck are you talking about?"

"Just - " Red sighs, long and heavy and tired. He runs a hand down his face. "Please. Please, just hear us out."

The room is quiet for a heavy moment. "Well," Taehyung says suddenly. With a shrug, he continues, "why not? Fuck it."

"Excuse me? Kim Taehyung, what the fuck do you mean why not? There's so many reasons why not!" Jimin hisses, but Taehyung is already wandering over toward the men. "Oh, my god."

Green relaxes visibly, and sends Taehyung a grateful smile. "Thank you. I assure you, we are in no hurry to harm anyone. Please, have a seat." With Taehyung easily settling into a chair at the table, Jimin and Yoongi are left with no choice but to follow reluctantly. The three men are already sitting down. The cat has not left its perch on Green's shoulder. Red is holding the Book of Shadows to his chest with the urgency of a child gripping a blanket after a nightmare. Yoongi and Jimin slowly lower themselves into their seats on either side of Taehyung. Now, sat across the table from the three, Yoongi could see them much more clearly. They were all so young. They couldn't be any older than Yoongi. "I suppose introductions are in order. My name is Kim Namjoon."

"Oh." Taehyung sits up straighter; eyes wide. "Oh my god. You're the Kim brothers. That should have been obvious, I guess, but I never really thought - oh, man. Okay. Well. I have a lot of reevaluating to do tomorrow."

"Kim brothers? Those guys you told us about?" Jimin asks incredulously. Even as the words left his mouth, Yoongi realized that it could be nothing else. Of fucking course. Real life witches.

"Our reputation continues to proceed us," Namjoon says. There's a hint of amusement in his voice. His eyes still look too tired, though. "Yes, we are. This is our older brother, Hoseok. And Jungkook, the youngest. And this," Namjoon says, and tilts his head to let his cheek brush against the top of the cat's head. "is Jin."

"Jin? As in the missing son of the businessman?" Taehyung asks.

"Missing? Is that what they told everyone?" The cat scoffs, as much as a cat can; mouth open but unmoving. "Bastards. I left voluntarily. They knew where I was."

"Jin is my partner. His father had not been happy when he found out." Namjoon's face flashes with something indecipherable. He shakes himself out of it soon enough, however, and sends them all a soft smile. Taehyung makes quick work introducing them, and after a short; polite exchange of nods - it felt a little odd to do something so normal after everything had transpired, as if they had met in a completely normal, no-house-shaking-magic way - Namjoon continued. "A spell went a little... awry. It was all I could do to keep him safe at the time. Shape shifting isn't difficult. Surprisingly, neither is giving immortal life. It's mixing the two with a non magical that is the problem."

"So, when you all went missing - that was a spell, too?" Taehyung asks; leaning forward in his chair.

Hoseok nods. "Yes. They were going to kill us, so we had to act fast. We couldn't escape on foot or horse. They would have caught up. So we did the only thing we could think of. Sealed ourselves away. It was, unfortunately, something that came with a catch. Any spell so powerful always has some sort of drawback."

"Which was?" Yoongi finds himself asking. This whole thing should have sounded preposterous, but he had seen a cat talk, so all bets were off. 

"To be freed, we would have to meet very specific requirements. We had to give up quite a bit casting the spell. And being released took just as much energy. We are drained. Our powers are limited."

"If that's what you guys are like tired I don't wanna see you guys on a good day," Jimin grouses. 

"Sorry," Jungkook mumbles. He has barely lifted his head from staring down at the table the entire time. "I didn't mean to hurt you, you were just so close to hyung and I got scared."

Yoongi can see Jimin's heart melt in real time as his shoulders slump. "Oh, it's okay. It didn't really hurt. Just surprised me." Jungkook peers up at him through his eyelashes, hesitant, and Yoongi fights a snort at the distressed look that crosses Jimin's face. It's the same look he gets at the animal shelter when a particularly sad looking animal tugs at his heart strings. "Really! I'm okay."

Jungkook sighs loudly, and flops back in his chair as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Hoseok gives his knee a pat. "See? Wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"Shut up," Jungkook mumbles, but doesn't seem so annoyed. Hoseok's smile brightens.

"I've spent three hundred years trying to get a virgin to light a fucking candle. Those spells aren't difficult, they're fucking impossible." Jin's tail twitches in annoyance, and slaps the side of Namjoon's face. Namjoon either doesn't notice, or doesn't care. 

Jimin snorts, loudly, suddenly. It takes Yoongi a long moment to realize why.Immediately, he rounds on Jimin. "Park Jimin, I swear to everything you find joy in in life if you fucking say anything - "

"OH MY GOD, A VIRGIN HAD TO LIGHT THE CANDLE," Taehyung gasps, and Yoongi suddenly wants to die. Very badly. He snaps his head toward Taehyung to fix him with the full weight of his glare. Taehyung, eyes comically wide, slaps a hand over his mouth.

Jimin has collapsed in a quiet fit of giggles, now. "I told you to get out of your dorm room every once in a while, hyung," Jimin chortles. Yoongi reaches back to pinch Jimin's thigh hard. "Ouch! Fucking - that was unnecessary!"

"And so were your smart ass comments," Yoongi snaps.

Taehyung, now recovered, is grinning too. Yoongi wants very very very much for the ground to swallow him. "I mean, if you need a volunteer, hyung, we could easily fix that - "

"AHHHHH," Yoongi yells, and slaps his hands over his ears. This is not the conversation he wants to have in front of three magic wielding strangers and a talking cat. Yoongi, also, desperately keeps his mind away from the fact that Kim Taehyung of all people had just - jokingly or not - offered to have sex with him that was fine everything was fine Yoongi was imploding from embarrassment but that was fine, too. The heat on his cheeks and crawling down his ears was totally coincidental, too. Everything was fine. "Anyway, oh my god," Yoongi continues hurriedly, and lowers his hands to guide the topic far, far away from wherever they were right then. "So you seal yourself away to escape all this shit. Now you're back. Cool. What does that have to do with us, now? Can't we just go our separate ways? I fail to see how we can help you any more than we did."

"We are three hundred years from our time," Namjoon sighs. "As much as I hate to admit it, we are out of our depth here. It's not like we can walk up to anyone, tell them our story, and be taken seriously. You were here. You have seen everything. You have no choice but to believe." Yoongi, unfortunately, could not disagree. "You are dependable. If you were not, either Jungkook or Hoseok hyung would have noticed by now."

Yoongi raises an eyebrow at that. "Uh, how?"

"Magic, hyung," Taehyung says, like that is the obvious answer. Maybe it is. Namjoon nods in agreement anyway.

"That is the simple version, yes."

"Okay, let's say we decide to help you," Jimin pipes up. Knowing Jimin, and Yoongi knew him as well as himself, he had already decided to help them the second they asked. Jimin is generous, and selfless, and generally all things that Yoongi wishes he could be. But at the same time he is level headed and calculated. The Jimin now is a long cry from the young Jimin who would let his temper and emotions rule his actions completely. Yoongi, as he often is around Jimin, is struck with a quiet hum of pride in his chest. "What do you need?"

"Ingredients," Hoseok says. He lays the Book down on the table and begins to flip through the pages with practiced ease. "We have most of what we need here. We'll need at least two, if not three potions made. One, to return Jin hyung to his original form. That's the one we need to get first. The spell on him is just slightly wrong, and it's already a huge spell. It's what's taking most of our energy away. Once we get him back to his old body, we'll need to make a magic stabilizer. If we can get this all done before dawn, we should be okay."

"And if you can't?" Yoongi asks, and immediately regrets it as he sees the discomfort flit across their faces.

"We die," Namjoon says simply, and just like that Yoongi knows he will help them. 

"Well, fuck," Taehyung breathes. "Um, okay. How hard is it to make these potions?"

Hoseok stops on a page, and hums in thought. "Let's see. The stabilizer will be easiest. We've had to make it quite a few times before. We should have most of the ingredients, but both of them will need to boil and rest for a while." He casts a cursory glance around the cabin, and grimaces. "I do not think we have any fire wood here. I'm scared it would take too long to gather the ingredients and cook them, but we don't have much of a choice.

"Why don't we just go to my place?" Taehyung asks. "It's close by here. I've got a stove so it should be fine." Taehyung pauses for a second, frowning. "Uh, a stove is like this machine that can cook - "

"We know what a stove is, boy," Jin huffs; ear twitching. Taehyung raises his hands in surrender. "What do you think I've been doing for three hundred years?"

"Eating mice," Jungkook says immediately, and snickers when Jin hisses at him.

"Hyung would tell us stories of the world changing," Namjoon says, and lifts his hand almost absentmindedly to touch Jin's head. Jin leans into his hand immediately. "We have not been sleeping for all these years. It was an odd existence."

Jimin blinks. "So, you could hear? From wherever you were?"

"Sort of?" Jungkook agrees, but he tilts his head a little; eyebrows furrowed. "It's hard to explain. It felt like, you know when you dream but you're still kind of awake? It's like that. I remember hearing Jin hyung's voice, hearing the strangers coming in the house, or the rain against the house. Everything is kind of hazy, but I just sort of know stuff. Whether that's because of the Book, or Jin hyung, or both I dunno. Oh - " Jungkook's eyes widen suddenly, and he stares at Taehyung. "Is that why you sound familiar? Did you come here, before?"

Jin answers before Taehyung can. "He came here often. I used to watch him to make sure he didn't cause mischief. He was the only one to visit after it was closed down. Tell me, could you read the back passage of the Book? I saw you reading it. The spell on the Book usually keeps people from touching it at all."

"That weird language? No, what is that anyway?"

"That is our own language. Something we, as a family, have used for generations. It is not safe for practicing witches so we had to devise our own way to trade information. I am, however, curious as to how you were unaffected by the warding spell." Namjoon rubs his chin idly as Taehyung shifts under his gaze. "Perhaps that is a question for another time. We don't have much time until dawn."

Yoongi pulls out his phone to glance at the time. "It's a little past midnight," he announces. "That's, what, seven hours until sunrise? More or less. Surely that's enough time." But the looks on the brothers' faces are stormy. "How long does it take to make these?"

"It's the purification time that will really take a while. It has to sit in the moonlight for a few hours. If we don't hurry now, we will be pushing it, I think." Hoseok turns his attention back to the pages of the Book; eyes scanning the contents quickly. "Jungkook, go ahead and gather all of the dry ingredients we will need for hyung's potion. There should be a basket under the counter. Namjoon, gather any of our stabilizer ingredients. We should have some extras in the closet, granted that our preservation spell lasted as long as we hoped."

Jungkook gets up and disappears into the kitchen. Namjoon calls after him, "If we do not have anything, let us know, Jungkook - "

"I know, hyung!" Jungkook calls back quickly.

Namjoon sighs. "Hyung, do you think we have any of our crystals left? I think it would be wise to at least have some added protection."

"Good idea. We should have those imports from the West somewhere." Hoseok and Namjoon rise, both deep in conversation as they wander toward one of the shelves by the fireplace.

"So..." Jimin begins. Taehyung and Yoongi turn to look at him. His face is serious. "I guess we're not getting those waffles any time soon, huh?"

"Oh my god, shut up," Yoongi groans. Jimin snickers. "We're literally in a house full of witches and a talking cat and you're still worried about food?"

"Um, yeah? Just because magic is apparently real and we have to rethink our entire belief system doesn't mean I'm suddenly not hungry anymore."

Taehyung chuckles quietly. "Alright, you two. God, you two bicker more than my parents."

Yoongi scrunches his nose. "Please don't liken me to your parents. That's weird."

Jimin grins toothily, which is never a good sign. "Why, because then it would be weird to stick your tongue d - "

"OH WOW," Yoongi yells abruptly, and stands up in a hurry. He pointedly looks anywhere but the other two. "I should go see if they need help!" Yoongi takes a moment to flick Jimin off with both hands before he makes his way toward the others. Namjoon and Hoseok are still deeply in conversation, so he instead makes his way to the kitchen. Surely there was something he could help with. Jungkook is rummaging through some of the cupboards when he enters. "Hey, kid, need some help?"

Jungkook casts him a glance over his shoulder before turning back to his task. "Sure. There should be a glass jar filled with some roots in it on that other shelf. Could you get it please?"

"Yeah," Yoongi agrees easily; happy to actually have an excuse to stay hidden away. Jimin had always been very vocal about his disdain for Yoongi's reluctance to even speak to Taehyung on a normal day. It wasn't his fault that Taehyung was god damned ethereal. Not that he admitted it out loud. He had barely even glanced at Taehyung the first time they'd met and Jimin had seen his immediate attraction from a fucking mile away. After that it had been a barrage of 'you should talk to Tae, get to know him, you'd love him, you two would be cute together' that drove Yoongi crazy. Any time Jimin would speak about Taehyung - an often occurrence, as they'd gotten very close - he would make certain to point out in excruciating detail just how good Taehyung looked that day. Which was fucking asinine, because Yoongi was convinced that Taehyung could look good in a fucking potato sack. He knew he looked good that day, because he looked good every fucking day that Yoongi could catch a glimpse of him across campus. 

The jar is easy enough to locate in the bare bones kitchen. Yoongi places the jar in the basket on the counter, and Jungkook makes a happy noise as he finds a jar he was looking for. "That should be it. It's not too difficult," he says. From so close, Yoongi can see clearly the angry red discoloring on his jaw. Guilt pools deep in his gut.

"How's your face, by the way? Are you okay?" Yoongi's voice is softer than he meant it to be. Jungkook's blinks at him, confused for a moment, before realization lights up his eyes.

"Oh! I'm okay. I've gotten way worse working the farm. Cows kick hard." Jungkook's voice is chirpy, and not quite what he had expected to hear from someone he punched in the face literal minutes ago.

"Um, yeah, that's true, but I still punched you. I wouldn't really fault you for being upset," Yoongi replies.

"Yeah, but you were just trying to protect your friend." Jungkook meets his gaze easily. He looks older, in the dim light, staring at him so calmly. "I was trying to do the same. It's only fair. I think I like you more because you did punch me."

Yoongi can't help but bark out a laugh at that. "You know what? I think I agree with you. Though, it may have been different if you actually would have hurt Jimin."

"I wouldn't blame you then, either." Jungkook tells him easily.

Yoongi decides that he likes him, and the confident set of his shoulders. He gives him an appreciative nod. "Alright. Is that all we need?"

Jungkook pressed his lips together, and sighs down at the basket. "Unfortunately not. We don't have any aster." Jungkook easily lifts the wicker basket filled to the brim with jars clinking together, and jerks his head for Yoongi to follow him. "Hyung," he calls, and three heads turn to him. "we don't have aster."

Hoseok frowns. "Aster? I could have sworn we had some..."

"That's alright. There's always a cluster across town," says Namjoon. "It will take us a while to get there. Maybe we should separate. Some of us could gather it while Hoseok hyung could begin the potion."

"I dunno." Jungkook's voice is suddenly softer. His eyes are trailed to the ground. "I don't... I wouldn't be comfortable. Being apart. We just got back."

"Oh, my baby." Hoseok falls upon Jungkook quickly; managing to wrap his arms around him even with the basket in Jungkook's arms. Jungkook squirms around, whining loudly about how he is 'not a kid anymore, hyung', but it falls on deaf ears as Hoseok kisses his hair. "We won't split up. We don't have to. We can make it in time."

"Let's just take my car," Taehyung pipes up. He and Jimin are still huddled at the table. They seem to have been having a close discussion; pressed closely together. "Where exactly are these? Aster, you said?"

"The cemetery," Jin supplies. "Quite a trek for me, at the very least."

"Oh, that's like fifteen minutes away, max."

"Perfect. We should get going, then. We don't have time to waste. Yoongi, was it?" Yoongi jolts to attention at Namjoon's call, and nods. "Would you mind helping me with these?" Yoongi is handed a basket to carry as well, this one filled with what looks like silk, a mirror, a black bowl, and small white candles.

It is a loud procession, getting all seven of them out of the cabin. Jimin and Taehyung seemed to have struck up a quick friendship with Jungkook as they stumble down the steps together. Yoongi hangs back with Namjoon, watching the younger men giggle loudly. "You guys seem to be taking this pretty well, to be honest," Yoongi says. 

"I could say the same for you all." Namjoon casts a glance over his shoulder where Hoseok is carefully closing the cabin door, and hurrying after them; Book clutched to his chest. They wait for Hoseok to join them before continuing down the hill. "I'm surprised it was so easy to get you all to help us. Not that I am ungrateful."

"You and me both, man," Yoongi snorts. "But it's like you said. It's not like we could have just left you all by yourselves."

"We... well. I'm sure there will be time to freak out about everything in hindsight, but right now we just need to focus on surviving. We may not be completely ignorant to this time, but it is still... quite a lot to take in."

"An understatement, I think," Hoseok hums.

"You're right, as usual."

"Hey, can you guys like, magic the gate unlocked maybe?" Jimin asks as they reach them down by the chain link fence. "We don't want to drop all your stuff, but its definitely not gonna fit through the hole we got in with."

"Ah, I got it." Taehyung takes the basket from Jungkook, who skips over to the gate. With a simple touch to the padlock it falls to the ground easily. "That's like, basic stuff."

"Right. Because manipulating metal is like subtraction," Yoongi grumbles.

"Magic, hyung!" And when Taehyung says it like that, Yoongi can't even pretend to be annoyed. "Ooh, this is you guys' first time in a car! Have you even seen one before?"

"Jin hyung has told us about them," Hoseok explains as they reach the sidewalk. The roads are empty, as they usually are that late on Halloween. Kids are already in bed by then, or the adults are still out partying. Taehyung's beat up silver Jeep is the only car parked on the sidewalk. "But no, we've never seen one. It's... weird looking."

"Is it safe?" Namjoon asks; eyeing it as if it was a wild animal. Taehyung unlocks it, and the resulting beep makes him jump. "By the Goddess."

"It's totally fine! Inigo Montoya is very reliable." 

"You have really got to get a hold of this Princess Bride obsession, Tae. We watched it months ago," Jimin says as he opens the trunk and begins to load the baskets. 

"It's a classic for a reason!"

"Hoseok?" Yoongi vaguely hears Jin call, but he's too busy laughing at the absolute disgust etched on Taehyung's face at Jimin's admittance to falling asleep part way through Princess Bride to really pay attention. 

"Hyung!" Jungkook's voice is frantic, and it has Yoongi spinning around in alarm. Jungkook is gripping Hoseok firmly by the arms. Jin is busy pressing himself against Hoseok's calves; large eyes staring up at him. "Hyung, careful. You almost fell! You need to tell me before it happens or you'll get hurt."

Hoseok is frowning down at the ground; eyes distant. "Is he okay?" Taehyung asks..

"He has visions every so often," Namjoon explains. He doesn't look away from Hoseok's pale face. "He already has a weak constitution. They can affect you greatly, if they're powerful enough. Unfortunately, he is a very powerful Seer. They are almost always strong."

"I..." Hoseok's voice is a drawl, as if there's cotton in his mouth. He blinks, long and slow. "I - "

"Take your time," Jungkook tells him. "Don't get overwhelmed."

"Too far - it was too far in the future," Hoseok slurs; shakes his head slightly as if trying to rid himself of it. "I don't understand a thing that I saw."

"That's good though, right?" Taehyung asks. "You saw something, so that means you must survive."

Hoseok takes a long, deep breath. He seems present, now, and finally looks up at them all. "Unfortunately, Fate is not that kind. I once had a vision that I married the baker's daughter. We never spoke, and now I'm here. Visions are not concrete. They are only one of many possibilities."

"Let's go ahead and get you seated." Jimin closed the trunk, and moves to open the backseat door. "You look like you're seconds from passing out."

Hoseok smiles at him shakily. "I feel like it is a definite possibility."

"I'll help, go ahead," Jungkook says softly as they move toward the car. Hoseok's steps are unsteady, and he has to lean most of his weight on Jungkook.

"Does this happen often?" Yoongi asks Namjoon. Namjoon is frowning deeply.

"The visions, often enough. They unbalance him, but he has not had one affect him so much that he could hardly walk in a very long time." Namjoon's lips only continued to curl downward. "I don't have a good feeling about it."

Great. Just what Yoongi wanted to hear.