Chapter Text
The silence that greeted you as you entered your house was, in a word… suspicious. You didn’t see the fiery red glimpses of fur that belonged to a fox sneaking his way around your furniture to scare you, nor did you hear the patter of paws or feet that usually came to greet you when you got home after a day out without your familiar. This immediately had you alert and scanning the room. Hoseok may have been cute and endearing, utterly disarming when he smiled—but he was still a fox, and the boy was about as sneaky as they came when he wanted to be.
As a witch, one might think your first instinct would be to perform a spell and scan the household or something. Perhaps another time you’d be doing such a thing, but right now you were tired—you’d spent the day practicing your magic and it had left you sapped of energy and incredibly hungry. Your stomach was rumbling, yearning for the cinnamon scrolls you knew to be in your pantry, and you had half a mind to march your way in there right now. But alas, you had a bag and coat that needed dumping in your room first. So, with a sigh and one last look cast longingly towards the kitchen, you turned on your heel and started towards your bedroom.
Evidently, it was about time that you gave your house a clean. You fought back the wash of embarrassment that came as you stepped over the lump of clothes in the hallway that had fallen from the basket a few weeks ago when you were doing clothes and you had yet to pick up since. Okay, that one was on you—but the twiggy stick wrappers sticking out from beneath it where someone had tucked them in a sad attempt at concealing them? That had Hoseok written all over it. In the entire time you’d known him, you’d made no greater mistake than introducing him to that damn treat. They might have been delicious, but he munched on them all the time and the wrappers ended up everywhere. As though the universe wanted to prove you right, on your next step something clung to your heel—a twiggy stick wrapper, of course.
It wasn’t like your home was in a total state of mess and disrepair—it just had some spots that were decidedly cleaner than others. Like the kitchen, and the bathroom; those were kept spotless at all times. Your bedroom? Hoseok’s bedroom? It was better not to think about it. The living room? A middle grounds of sorts. The living room was fair game.
Kicking aside underwear that must have dropped from your arms near your door last time you put your washing away, cheeks burning, you entered your room and let out a loud, relieved huff. At the sight of your bed, you were simultaneously more exhausted and less tired than before. More exhausted, because nothing appealed to you more than flopping on your bed right in this moment, and less tired because it was as though the sight triggered the release of all the stress you’d accumulated over the day and suddenly, it felt as though at least some of your energy had returned to you. You were torn, as your bag slipped from your arm to the floor and your coat followed. Bed? Food?
… god why did you have to suffer like this.
In the end, your stomach won out, the deciding factor having been the logic that if your stomach was full, you’d feel even better when you flopped on your bed and succumbed to a nap. You were always a sucker for the finer comforts of life, and at the opportunity to indulge yourself a little more you couldn’t resist.
Eagerly, enticed by the thought of the cinnamon scrolls you’d been lusting after the whole trip home, you closed the door and slipped into some pants and a sweater that were more comfortable than what you’d donned earlier. Feeling fresh and ready to face the world once more, you re-emerged from your room a new woman and made a beeline for the kitchen. Idly, a part of you still wondered where Hoseok was— it was unlike him to go this long without pouncing on you or at least acknowledging your presence long enough to beg for some of the cookies you’d hidden earlier. Hmm… suspicious indeed.
Eyes sweeping across the living room as you moved past, taking in the bowl of grapes on the table and the few scattered on the floor as though they’d been thrown, you began to get a feeling that a certain someone had come over to visit your housemate. You wondered if Jimin knew where his familiar had gotten off to, or if this was a more covert visit. You wouldn’t expect a dove shifter to be as cheeky as Taehyung was, but you’d learned quickly it was one of his more dominant personality traits. That, and the certain sly streak that only seemed to make an appearance when he was around Hoseok. The house wasn’t in too bad of a condition, so you were hoping they hadn’t gotten up to anything too wild today— the time they’d both shifted and taken turns chasing each other around the house was still very fresh in your memory, as was the chaos that event left in its wake.
“It’s a game!” Hoseok had assured you when you’d scolded him. “Taehyung and I have fun chasing each other around!”
Well, you didn’t doubt that— you were a little worried about what would happen if Hoseok’s playfully snapping jaws ever actually caught Taehyung as he fluttered about the room, though. You just didn’t know if you were capable of cleaning up that amount of feathers.
The kitchen was about as bare as the connected dining room had been, but if anything it only served to concern you more. The kitchen was one of Hoseok’s favourite haunts, and at least if he was here you knew he wasn’t up to anything. But now… if he wasn’t in his room he was definitely up to something. Scratch that, either way he was definitely up to something. You tried to think back to anything that might indicate what he could be doing, but came up blank. Whatever mischief he’d concocted was something he’d done on impulse, it would seem. Well, hopefully it wouldn’t be too bad.
At this stage you just accepted the fact your familiar was probably up to no good and there was nothing you could do about it. With that acceptance came a certain sense of peace, and you hummed as it washed over you. Two steps and you were at the pantry, the delicious scent of various baked goods you’d found on sale and stockpiled over the past week caressing your nostrils like an old friend. God, the feeling when you were finally able to nibble on the food you’d been longing for… indescribable.
Grabbing the cinnamon scrolls from their allocated place on the shelf in front of you, you brought the pack over to the bench, before pausing. Since the theme was self-indulgence this fine day, should you…? Your head turned to the fridge, mouth already salivating. Hell yeah, you were gonna hit up your stash of whipped cream. God, this was going to taste so good.
You let out a happy squeal as you skipped to the fridge, door swinging with ease, and your gaze zoomed to where the can of whipped cream was on the door shelf— wait.
Wait a second.
It took a moment for the sight of an empty shelf before you to register, and another moment for you to do something about it. With a confused, alarmed sound that dragged itself past your lips, you peered further into the fridge. The thought process was that perhaps, you’d misplaced it and forgotten about it. But alas, it was not the case. Your coveted can of whipped cream was nowhere to be found, and you were left standing in confusion, cold air hitting your face gently, until you heard it.
The sound of an aerosol can being used. The sound the whipped cream can made when someone was squirting whipped cream from it. Oh hell no.
You knew exactly where that sound was coming from, and you allowed the fridge to shut, following instead the incriminating noise. Hoseok… how many times had you told that sneaky fox? He could have anything in the kitchen but the food for dinner, the cookies, and the whipped cream. Ugh, whipped cream was expensive, damn it.
Through the kitchen, out the back door. Towards the other side of the house, against the fence between two large trees with thick trunks, was a fort of sorts. A cubby, with blankets and pillows, that Hoseok and even you liked to rest in sometimes; in the mornings, it had a delicious amount of sunshine that fell upon it and warmed you to your bones. Even from several metres away you could hear the giggling from inside, and the tell-tale sound of your missing whipped cream being put to good use. You didn’t know how you hadn’t suspected they’d be up to something out here earlier, this was one of the other places they both frequented.
You quieted your steps as you grew closer, sneaking a little when you realised they hadn’t noticed you were onto them.
“Wh— yah, Taehyung! Don’t take it all!” Hoseok’s voice carried into a whine and you might have felt sorry for him if he weren’t currently stealing one of your most treasured food items. “Leave me some or I’ll tell her it was your idea.”
Taehyung let out an indignant squawk, and you glimpsed through one of the small windows to see they were sitting huddled with their backs to you. Perfect.
The dove shifter fluffed his wavy grey hair as Hoseok took the can back, a pout on his lips. “I wasn’t taking it all! Also, that would have been a dick move.”
You almost snorted, but managed to contain it as you lowered and slipped into the cubby in a crouch. It was surprisingly spacious inside, you were always impressed whenever you ventured in. You thought that whoever made it might have charmed it a bit.
Hoseok shifted his head and you could tell he rolled his eyes. “Tae, this is whipped cream. The forbidden treasure, a hidden delicacy— if you’d had it all I would have had to kill you on principle.”
“Rude ass,” Taehyung mumbled, pouting to the side, and you watched as Hoseok lifted his arm, can in hand, so that it hovered above his face. His mouth opened and you jumped into action before he could deplete your stores any further.
“Jung Hoseok,” you said loudly, tone sharp for the sheer sake of giving them a fright. “That’s not yours.”
Both males screamed, Taehyung’s in a lower register but still just as ear-piercing as the fox beside him. The can flew into the air as Hoseok’s limbs flung in his fright, his entire body jumping away from you on instinct. You didn’t even have time to laugh, to release the cackle that bubbled in your throat, because the can was dropping and your hand shooting to grasp it— and in that time you couldn’t dodge Hoseok’s leg as it flailed out and bopped you in the face.
“Ow!” you cried, plopping back on your ass as your free hand came to cover your throbbing nose. “Jesus, Hobi!”
Taehyung’s terror quickly turned to humour as he cackled at your predicament, Hoseok quickly emerging from his fright with a look of alarm.
“y/n, you— oh shit I’m sorry y/n!”
Amongst the chaos that had suddenly spawned around you, you managed to deliver the red-haired male with a glare. He shrunk back, looking every bit as guilty as you knew him to be.
“Jung Hoseok,” you said once more, voice carrying a warning that worked wonders despite how nasally your voice was currently coming out. “You have five seconds to run before I spray you with truth serum and make you spill every last one of your dirty little secrets to big-mouthed Taehyung over here.”
Hoseok shrieked, knowing you better than to take chances, and scrambled to remove himself from your immediate vicinity.
“I’m so sorry!” he yelped as he wobbled onto his feet outside the cubby, booking it for the house. “I’ll get you some ice, I’m so sorry y/n!”
He did end up getting you some ice, narrowly avoiding his promised fate of truth serum and Taehyung’s gossiping ways. It was only later, as you curled up on the couch with the ice-pack pressed half-heartedly to your face, long after Taehyung had left and made his way back to his own home, that Hoseok re-emerged from his room where he’d been hiding.
The familiar, fluffy image of his fox form moved into your peripheral, and you gave him the stink-eye as he trotted up to the couch and sat for a moment, looking at you with big, golden puppy eyes. You were onto him— he’d chosen this form so you’d be less mad at him. You couldn’t help it— he was so cute, and cuddly, and ugh. Sly fox. He knew how to play you exactly how he wanted.
“Fine,” you huffed eventually, lowering your legs so he could climb onto your lap. “Don’t go expecting any cuddles, though.”
Hoseok let out a happy sound that was somewhere along the lines of a bark and eagerly jumped onto the couch beside you. It took him all of two seconds to make his way onto your lap, curling up and wrapping his fluffy tail around himself contentedly. He was a little too big for your lap but that had never stopped him before and certainly wouldn’t stop him now. His eyes seemed closed, but you could see slips of golden and his inky pupil through the gap that told you he was watching your face for your reaction. You huffed, keeping your hands in place no matter how much they twitched with the urge to pet him.
Hoseok wasn’t one to give up though. He shuffled, wriggling further into your warmth and allowing his back to rest against your arm so you were holding him in some way. Amused at his antics, you watched to see what he would do next. His white underside was quickly revealed as he rolled in your loose hold, baring his belly to you to see if you’d break and indulge him. You held firm, impressed by your own self control, and he whimpered, wriggling some more in a not-so-silent plea for your touch.
“Stop that, sly fox,” you scolded half-heartedly, ignoring the way his eyes bored into your own. “I’m annoyed at you.”
The fox whimpered, pressing back against your arm and wriggling some more— he was going to fall off your lap if he wasn’t careful. In no way did you speak fox, but you got the gist of his pitiful noise.
“No,” you said, attempting to remain firm. Hoseok let out a long, loud, whine, and you huffed, resolve already breaking. You pulled your ice-pack away and the fox winced at the sight of your slightly red and swollen nose. You honestly could have healed it by now, but you were milking it to teach him a lesson. “Ugh…”
“Are you sorry?” you queried, squinting at him. He whimpered once more, shifting in your lap to press his nose against your tummy before delivering a swift lick to the skin of your arm. You snorted, wincing at the slight pain that followed. “Sorry for kicking me in the face?”
Hoseok let out an affirmative, apologetic sound, licking your arm once more as he nailed you with those big ol’ puppy eyes. You rolled your own eyes, unable to stop your lips from tugging up. “How about for stealing my whipped cream and eating it with Taehyung?”
At this, there was no apologetic whimper. Hoseok huffed, butting his head against your abdomen and hiding his face— he wasn’t sorry for that. You laughed, relenting and finally moving your hand to give him the pets and scratches he’d been begging for. A happy sound tore from his throat, body curving into your ministrations, and you rolled your eyes.
“You’re lucky you’re so cute in this form,” you grumbled, basking in the warmth that bloomed in your chest as you spent time with the one person you held closest to you. “Take my whipped cream again and I really will spray you with truth serum and lock you up with Taehyung, though.”
Hoseok let out a light, noncommittal grunt, his eyes closed in bliss as you scratched his chest. You didn’t doubt that come your next shopping trip, you’d be fighting him off the whipped cream once more.