Archive of Our Own

The room was bathed in the moon’s light, which hung in the sky in the latest stages of its waxing gibbous phase. Come nightfall, it would rise back in the sky as the Cold Moon, the last full moon of the year. For now, it was commencing its descent, accompanied by the soft and emerging glow of the nautical twilight. As the witching hour hit, the moon aligned perfectly in the frame of the wheel window. As it always did, the moon’s presence brought Taehyung out of his dreams, whose bed directly faced the window.

Taehyung rose to a sitting position groggily, leaning out of his bed to retrieve his dream journal. He’d never had any luck in developing his lucid dreaming, and had yet to recognize premonitions in his dreams, but he’d been taught it was a good practice to keep the journal regardless. He still thought he was fairly lucky none of the town’s other witches could read hangul. He couldn’t really make out the things he wrote in his freshly awoken states, and would have surely been berated by any mentors who would have taken notice.

After a few scribbles concerning a giant fiery meteor heading for their town, which had only turned out to be a colossal snowball ready to blanket the town’s buildings and landscapes — as featured in his dreams, of course — he slipped out of bed and made his way towards the round window. Moonbeams had acted as his natural alarm clock for nearly centuries now. He only allowed himself to sleep past three in the morning on new moon nights, when no celestial body appeared at the centre of his bedroom window. The window had been the main reason he’d begged the family of zombies to move into the attic of their gothic-styled mausoleum. As per their agreement, Taehyung still prepared the family a variety of ointments for their zombie-specific skincare on a bi-yearly basis, and in return continued residing in the cold attic without problem.

With a sigh, he noticed no trace of snow in the surrounding cemetery. He turned to his workbench, the one exclusively reserved for hobbies, where he found the only snow of Halloween Town. With his magic, he’d created the bubbled and miniature ecosystem, where it snowed constantly. It was meant as a greenhouse of sorts, where he tested any and all hybrids and floral creations of his, to determine whether they could survive the climate of Christmas Town. Sadly, the small plant nursery often seemed to match its surroundings, and became a veritable plant cemetery.

Currently, the remaining survivors were a cross of a breed of carnivorous plant native to the town’s Spiral Hill and a holly plant he’d harvested when he’d last visited Christmas Town. He considered it a little unfortunate, as these were the plants in his current experimental batch he knew Yoongi would be least likely to like. They had a bit of a nasty personality, seemingly aggravated by the toxicity of the holly. He still hoped the holly’s namesake, Yoongi’s cuddly toy poodle, would score him some points.

He kneeled before them, watching as they shook off the snow that had accumulated over their leaves.

“Good morning, lovelies. Everything still good in there?”

He grabbed the test tube corresponding to the current date and stuck his hand into the ecosystem. He poured the frost-resistance brew into the plants’ pitcher openings. He leaned in closer to hear the plants’ small vibrating and cooing sounds. He smiled genuinely then, convinced they were attempting to call out his name to thank him.

“You’re very welcome! A week from now you won’t need any dose at all, and then you’ll be off to the best chapter of your life!”

He left out the part where Yoongi could possibly reject the plants, but it had never happened yet.

As the skies dipped into the civil twilight, he readied himself for the long day ahead. He washed up in the clawfoot tub in the corner of his room, then ate a snack in the unmade bed before setting his eyes on his wardrobe. He put little care in his fashion choices for the day. What mattered most was the dark cloak he wore over the clothes, its clasp forming a full silver moon when he wore it. He would be going through enough climates throughout the day to justify the use of the travel cloak. It would be the first time he’d visit all six other holiday towns in a given day, and he dearly hoped his body wouldn’t be too drained from the constant travel warps.

Choosing which rings to wear for the day proved to be more difficult. He spent more time than expected looking through his descriptive charts of stones’ effects before settling for a mixture of turquoises, tiger eyes, and carnelians. More than half his fingers were adorned, and he would have felt more embarrassed about his hands’ appearance had it not been for his strong need for luck.

Next, he packed his basket for the day. The picnic-styled basket usually served him when he was gathering ingredients. Though the shape was typical, he’d suffered through weeks of labour to bewitch the ebony wood to be malleable enough to weave into a basket. The spell casting to make the basket light enough to be useful had been even more tedious. Today, it would serve a different purpose. He loaded the basket up with the treats he’d planned for each of his friends. They were doing him a favour, if he wanted to be nice, he had to repay each favour with kindness immediately. He packed up a few more objects needed to refine some of the items he’d been promised from his friends. He had this carefully planned out. Granted, Jimin had outright refused all of his ideas, but he’d work that out with him come the early afternoon.

He slipped the last object needed into a velvet pouch instead, to be stored in one of the inside pockets of his cloak. The bracelet was his own creation. He had no doubt a more capable person wouldn’t have taken the couple of years it had taken him to prepare it. But, he was convinced that he’d put so much work into the piece of jewelry that it could only hold special value now. The bracelet was made of scarab beetles, mounted into mithril. Taehyung had spent many moons hunting down beetles of the perfect shape and size, had kept each one in a separate insectarium to be showered with affection until their natural deaths, and then had commenced the arduous process of taxidermy. Certain spells would have eased that process, but he’d been adamant in putting physical effort into his creation. He had used magic to crush precious stones from his collection into fine powders to paint each individual beetle.

The result was glossy shades of pinks, purples, and blues. Taehyung hadn’t really thought of whether the bracelet would suit Yoongi’s taste at all. He’d just focused on thoughts of Yoongi while making it, and had created it to be pretty in his own eyes. He’d put a lot of care into it. He hoped that was enough for Yoongi to like and appreciate it.

Once out of the mausoleum, it was only a matter of picking up the pumpkin he’d prepared for Jungkook, which he’d left by the mausoleum door at the previous nightfall, and whistling for Yeontan. Within seconds, the hellhound was digging its way out of the dirt of the cemetery, peeking his head out excitedly. Taehyung crouched down to catch him in his arms, the small creature predictably jumping towards him eagerly.

Yeontan’s yipping came to a stop with a coughing fit of smoke, Taehyung patted him with mild amusement. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually seen Yeontan bark out flames or even sparks, lately it was all smoke.

He hugged Yeontan to his chest for a few more moments.

He loved everyone in their gang of seven, but they only really officially met up on a monthly basis. Yeontan, however, was always by Taehyung’s side — had been for centuries. In a lot of ways, he was Taehyung’s closest friend. He desperately needed the companionship. Being forced to play “nice” in Halloween Town was incredibly isolating. He longed to play nasty tricks with other citizens, alas…

He put the ebony basket down, waiting for Yeontan to climb in. The little hellhound had sat down though, intensely staring into Taehyung’s eyes. It seemed the creature had guessed he had something weighing on his mind.

“Nothing,” he told the hellhound.

His gaze fell upon the basket again. It probably sounded like another one of his nice deeds. He was traveling from one Holiday Town to the next to put together the perfect care package for the head of the Letters Department of Christmas Town, and also his longtime friend, Min Yoongi. Tonight would be the last full moon before Christmas, and he wanted to bring Yoongi some form of care before he was fully immersed in the stressful environment that took over the Town the closer the twenty-fifth approached.

Sounded nice, but the truth was…

“It’s just not going to be very nice. Kind of entirely selfish. It would just be nice if he could notice that, like, I’m a pretty cool guy! So, as he comes to that realization, then I can confess to him! Makes sense, right? But, it’s more naughty than nice. Or at least, it’s neutral.”

At that, Yeontan only blinked his eyes. Taehyung heaved yet another sigh when Yeontan made his way over and hopped into the basket instead of communicating any type of answer.

First stop, Easter Town, so that he could free himself of the cumbersome pumpkin.

🐣🐰🐣

“You brought a pumpkin? No, please, not again. Haven’t we had enough carving contests? You know I’m better than you, please just admit it.”

Blindly, Taehyung reached out towards Jungkook’s voice. He grabbed the shapeshifter’s shoulder as he leaned forward and blinked away the dizziness that came with tumbling through the Easter Door’s vortex. He stayed slumped over the time to acclimatize his eyes to the brightness of the surrounding meadows. Whenever he travelled to Easter Town, the birds chirped, the sun shone, and the rivers ran through the landscape with a joyful burbling chime.

In Halloween Town, even when the sun was at its zenith, the atmosphere seemed encapsulated in an eternal twilight.

“Please, you may have technical prowess. But, you just can’t match my creativity,” he eventually managed to get out, once he wasn’t quite as nauseated.

Jungkook’s gasp almost rung out as genuinely offended.

“Look, it’s not because you use the stem of the pumpkin for the nose of a basic face that you can compare to my carvings. It’s cute, and all. But, it’s just not as good. Let’s not do this again.”

Taehyung snickered, delighted; that particular pumpkin had been decades ago. He noted it was just creative enough that Jungkook would remember it for even more decades to come.

“We’re not, we’re not. This pumpkin is for you. You can carve it if you want, but maybe you should check its insides first.”

With a boundless kind of curiosity, Jungkook took the pumpkin into his arms and lifted off the top of the pumpkin, which Taehyung had carved out as elegantly as he could manage. Jungkook’s features were quick to light up. Taehyung had carefully selected all of Jungkook’s favourite Halloween treats and had stuffed the pumpkin with them. Jungkook managed to pop three pieces of toffee into his mouth before even attempting to articulate a thank you.

“Wow, hyung! How come you’re spoiling me?”

“Am not! My mission is to spoil Yoongi-hyung. I’m just repaying you for spending your morning with me. I have to be nice, you know.”

As they spoke, they ventured further into the wooded area. Taehyung easily spotted the burrow openings here and there. It was normal for Jungkook to complain about making the trek to the town’s sole grand oak doors when the gang met up in Easter Town. While Jungkook could slip into his hare form and dig his way back home or to the town centre, it went without saying that none of them could follow after him.

It took Taehyung a moment to notice Jungkook was looking at him strangely. Once he did, he raised his eyebrows in question.

“Dude, you serious? I bet you could burn your whole town down and Yoongi-hyung would still provide you with Halloween Town’s yearly batch of Christmas gifts.”

At that, a muffled bark came from Taehyung’s basket, followed by Yeontan pushing his head against the basket’s lid and revealing his angry looking face.

Taehyung shushed him sweetly, before quickly reprimanding Jungkook.

“Kook! No fire talk, Yeontan’s touchy about his, uh, you know. Lack of fieriness.”

The shapeshifter scoffed, but dropped it without protest.

“Fine. Point is. I’m sure Yoongi-hyung would love to see you be naughty, for once.”

Jungkook’s lewd look wasn’t wasted on Taehyung.

“Please stop. This is supposed to be a holy day. The Cold Moon is coming tonight, and we’re going to make the best, sweetest, most thoughtful care package for Yoongi-hyung. There’s no time for your innuendos.”

That was all it took for Jungkook to move to another subject. Instead, he pointed out how overly witchlike Taehyung looked for once. Taehyung hadn’t noticed, but apparently the pointed hat, dark cloak, and blood red hair made him stand out in a place like this. Taehyung insisted that his recent dye was meant to be festive, for the Christmas season, but Jungkook seemed unconvinced.

The town’s imposing mother-tree, where most workshops were located, was strangely silent. Only a few baby chicks ran past Taehyung’s feet, and he only spotted a few of the town’s inhabitants, in human and hare form alike. Jungkook explained that the slowness of the season was the reason why he could secure a private room for their work.

Taehyung sat on the tree trunk seat as Jungkook set out the supplies on the acacia wood table. The paints came in more colours than Taehyung’s mind could imagine.

“So, like, what’s the plan for this?” Jungkook asked as he gestured to the seven eggs he’d hollowed, and the seven matching holders, which he’d prepared upon Taehyung’s request.

“Well, you’ve noticed that huge egg Yoongi-hyung has on his office’s fireplace, right? I’m sure you have. That’s like, part of your DNA to notice eggs. Kind of strange, if you ask me.”

Jungkook didn’t look impressed.

“You mean his Fabergé egg?”

“Dunno, but it looks lonely! So I thought we could paint seven friends for it. Each can represent one of us. You’ll help me, right?”

Jungkook’s expression didn’t change much.

“Well, hyung’s egg is like an invaluable treasure. And this will be like… an arts and craft project, but sure. Let’s do it.”

And so they started on the eggs. Taehyung had specifically asked to work on the one to represent Yoongi, and Jungkook had put up no argument. However, by the time he was satisfied with his work, Jungkook had already finished his third work. Jimin’s reminded Taehyung of a fountain, or an aurora borealis, all sparkling, shimmering, soft colours. Seokjin’s reminded him of his favourite sights of Halloween Town, like the leaf covered floors of the forest on the nights of the fiercest thunderstorms. Namjoon’s made him think of sweet drinks on the warmest of days, and the egg almost seemed to radiate its own brilliant light.

Taehyung was a bit embarrassed. Maybe he should have left Yoongi’s egg to Jungkook, who was the professional painter. As a matter of fact, maybe he should have just commissioned Jungkook ahead of time.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, pushing his egg towards Jungkook. Given that the town’s paints were enchanted to dry in a matter of seconds, Jungkook handled the egg without problem.

“Green? Thought we’d save that colour scheme for Hoseok-hyung.”

“Uh, well. This is like the exact shade of his elf uniform. It looks so good on him. Makes his skin look like freshly fallen snow, more so than usual anyway.”

He cleared his throat again, but that didn’t keep Jungkook from laughing at his declaration.

“It’s so weird that I’m the one who would compare his skin tone to a ghost. That should be you! Freshly fallen snow, really?” He teased gently, still turning the egg every which way.

“And the band of gold in the middle is supposed to show that like, he has a heart of gold. And then the white spots are like the falling snow.” Taehyung’s words lost some enthusiasm as he continued to explain. “You know what, it looks dumb. Yours look like a magical epiphany, and mine looks like… what kids think an Easter egg should look like.”

Jungkook gave him a quick glare and set the egg down in one of the white porcelain holders.

“Cut that out. It’s perfect. Let me take care of Hoseok-hyung and mine, you can make yours next. It’ll be cute, yours and Yoongi-hyung’s can match. Doesn’t that sound good?”

Taehyung smiled, but it wasn’t with much brightness. He ended up dyeing his a deep purple, the same shade as the cloak he owned that Yoongi liked best. He’d only said it once, around twelve years ago, but Taehyung still hadn’t forgotten. He painted a white centre band, deciding that he wouldn’t tell Jungkook it was supposed to symbolize the place Yoongi held in his heart. The orange spots were supposed to embody his Halloween heritage. He thought this one looked even goofier than the one he’d prepared for Yoongi.

He did his best not to stare too longingly at the two additional artworks Jungkook had created.

“You want to keep the egg holders white, or did you have an idea in mind?” Jungkook asked him gently.

“Yeah. D’you think we could dye them the colours of the rainbow? Hoseok-hyung always tells us so much about them, and they’re like. Really positive and magical, you know?”

They spent the rest of their time together arguing about who best matched each colour. With Taehyung’s current hair colour and his fire-spitting (at times) hellhound, Jungkook refused anything but red for him. Taehyung tried not to feel saddened that he’d previously told Jungkook that Yoongi was obviously violet, as the supporting pillar of their friend group. Now, Taehyung and Yoongi couldn’t have been further apart on the spectrum.

Taehyung knew he had been overwhelmingly silent as he’d stored the eggs and holders into his basket. Jungkook had packed them up in something that looked like a baker’s box, to avoid any accidents. He hadn’t thought his stress was too obvious, but he also hadn’t realized he’d started biting his fingernails.

It was only once Jungkook hopped onto his lap, now as a black hare, that he’d realized he’d been doing it. Taehyung was surprised, and flushed red when he saw Jungkook’s clothes carefully folded on his own tree trunk seat. Meaning, the other had undressed right in Taehyung’s vicinity, and he still hadn’t snapped out of his thoughts.

Jungkook pawed at his chest, and Taehyung picked him up with a soft sigh. He hugged the hare close for a few, long, silent moments.

“Thank you, it’s sweet of you to cuddle me. I’m fine though. Just, you know. I want to do a good job.”

He didn’t know if Jungkook really got it, but he allowed himself to be carried back to the meadows where the Holiday Doors were located nonetheless. Taehyung kissed the top of his head goodbye before putting him down and watching him hop away.

One down, four more to go.

He was happy with what he was bringing back from Easter Town for Yoongi, but he couldn’t help but to feel as if his heart was getting heavier as the morning advanced.

❄️☃️❄️

The red mahogany doors made for the most intimidating entrance he’d seen. Combined with the clean red carpeting, the ambience had Taehyung feeling small and silly. It had been raining in Halloween Town — as if physically further dampening his friends and colleagues’ spirits — and so he’d worn the translucent and waterproof cloak he kept for such days.

He’d never been in Christmas Town. Moreover, he hadn’t really had a concept of what snow was before arriving. He knew he’d been cold outside, with layers of snow piling onto his shoulders. But now, in the hallways of Santa’s central workshop, he felt too hot and his skin too wet with the melted snow.

From what he could tell, he was taller than anyone he’d crossed so far. He was also dressed like a lunatic, or so it felt like. He couldn’t help but to fear that no elves of Christmas Town knew what a raincoat was — though some part of him insisted they must have had enough knowledge to fabricate raincoats upon request.

At his feet, Yeontan barked sadly. He felt relieved when the resulting sparks didn’t erupt into flames upon contact with the carpet. Given that the little hellhound had immeasurable inner fire, he’d dried off in the blink of an eye once inside.

“We can do this, right, Tan? Nothing to be scared of.”

The elf at the front desk hadn’t really looked as if they had understood Taehyung’s request. He thought he’d been pretty straightforward. He was from Halloween Town, and he was looking for the person who managed gift requests. Simple.

They had redirected him to the fourth floor, to the office facing the golden elevator. The head of the Letters Department.

Sharply, Taehyung knocked at the door.

When no answer came, Yeontan barked. Taehyung nodded in reply and pushed the right door open.

“Hello? Is this the head of the Letters Department?”

The office’s space was just slightly larger than Taehyung’s living space. The ornately decorated Christmas tree by the fireplace was the most impressive feature in his eyes. Or, it had been the most impressive, until his eyes fell upon the elf who sat behind the desk.

Maybe the man wore the same hat all other residents did, and wore the same shade of green (despite how luxurious this sweater specifically looked to Taehyung), and maybe his ears were pointed in the very same way the receptionist’s had been, but his gaze was indescribably intense and penetrating. Had it not been for Yeontan sitting by his feet, Taehyung would have surely taken a step back.

“May I know who it is who is asking?”

The man readjusted his circular glasses, setting the golden fountain pen he’d been using before Taehyung’s arrival down.

“Yes, sir!” Taehyung replied firmly, straightening his posture and putting his feet together. “I’m from the Holiday Town of Halloween. I’m here to inquire about how our citizens can put in requests for Christmas gifts!”

Despite Taehyung’s militant tone and posture, the man behind the desk sighed heavily in response. After a moment in which the elf squeezed the bridge of his nose exhaustedly, he gestured towards the comfy seat facing his desk.

“It seems you’ve travelled from far, please take a seat.”

Taehyung counted. It was a full five steps from the doors to the seat. Despite the comfiness of the designated chair, he diligently maintained his perfect posture. He was here first for information, and second to impress. He almost lost his composure when he heard the tinkling of jingle bells. With a glance towards the sofa in a corner of the office, he locked eyes with a small caramel-coloured toy poodle elegantly resting over a pillow that looked much too fancy for a dog. He noted the big red satin bow around the dog’s neck, to which two jingle bells were attached. Taehyung smiled at the creature tensely, before returning his attention to the elf.

It was hard to judge when they were both seated, but it didn’t seem like the man was much shorter than Taehyung. He wasn’t sure if that was why he felt a bit more at ease now.

“Thank you for making the time. As I said, I’m from Halloween Town. Maybe you know, but recent Halloweens haven’t been the best. In the human world, well… there’s been lots of criminal activity on our day. Some humans have even put razorblades in apples and treats they hand out to children. Children! We all want a spooky Halloween, but… things have been so mean-spirited and malicious, I think morale has really gone down in the last decade.”

“Because the more your holiday is cherished and celebrated, the better the town fares. Right?” The elf completed.

Taehyung nodded, guessing it must have been just the same for Christmas Town.

“Right. So I had this exciting idea! Christmas gifts for all the townspeople! Just to bring back some cheer. Because things haven’t been great, those sorts of gifts could really bring some joy to my people. So. Here I am!”

Taehyung watched as the other leaned his elbows over the desk and interlocked his fingers. He wasn’t immensely encouraged by the man’s expression.

“Alright. I see three initial obstacles to your plan. The first two we may be able to address, the last may be a bigger hurdle.” He put his fist out with his pinky finger up as he voiced the first issue. “We’re late November now. Christmas is less than a month away. If this was the only issue, it may not be irreconcilable. For future reference though, your letters should be in by the end of summer.”

“So by the Sturgeon Moon? That would work, right?”

The man paused, gave Taehyung an odd look. “Is that the last full moon of summer?”

“Uh, well. Sometimes! It’s August’s full moon!”

The man nodded, seemed less strict as he put his ring finger up next. “We require a letter. No letter, no service. It’s to be addressed to Santa, but my department is in charge of formatting template responses and sending out our actual responses. As well as treatment of the request.”

Taehyung was still nodding avidly.

“That’s not really an issue! We know how to write, we have paper, ink. We’re a little late, for the first thing, but you said if there’s no other issue that doesn’t really matter that much. And we can write letters!”

He watched as the elf licked his lips slowly, and finally raised his middle finger to join the previous two.

“The biggest problem, which is where these negotiations will end, I’m afraid, is that you have to be nice. I think it’s safe to assume all inhabitants of Halloween Town are classified as naughty. Not much of a point in making any present requests.”

Taehyung felt mildly insulted.

“That’s kind of rude? We’re nice enough! We’re not mean, or anything.”

Taehyung was surprised when the other actually smiled then. It was the first smile he’d given him since he’d entered the office.

“I understand. I said naughty, not mean. Being a trickster, playing pranks, scaring others? You can try all of those with the purest and cutest of intentions. You still qualify as naughty. I don’t think you really want the town to erase its identity just in the name of a small dose of cheer?”

The solution felt evident to Taehyung. He sprung up to his feet, slamming his hands down onto the desk dramatically. He almost lost track of what he was about to say when he noticed how Yoongi jumped in surprise. The look that crossed his face was so satisfying, and yet… yet, Taehyung was willing to give up that sort of satisfaction.

“Ok. So I’ll be nice! Just me. And I’ll make gift requests and distribute those gifts to the other townspeople. Nothing wrong with that plan, right?”

The man hummed, put his elbows back down onto the desk. “You have to be nice all year. Start now. If you can avoid being naughty until the Sturgeon Moon, go ahead. Send in a letter then. But if you plan on being naughty before next year’s Christmas, forget it. All you’ll get is coal.”

There was a sharp bark at Taehyung’s feet, which interrupted him from reacting in his own offended way. He awed and cooed as he bent down to pick up Yeontan, bringing him to his chest fondly.

The elf looked alarmed by the sight. “And what’s that?”

“My baby, well, my hellhound. Yeontan.” He pronounced the name slowly, giving the man a meaningful look.

He almost dropped said hellhound when the elf continued in a perfect, and obviously native, Korean. “I see. I apologize. I didn’t mean to imply that your companion was anything but good, because of his name. Coal is simply what we use in the trade to replace any requested gifts. You understand, don’t you?”

“I understand perfectly…” Taehyung’s eyes dropped to the golden nameplate then, the characters forming the name “Min Yoongi”. He pronounced the name out loud, felt mildly embarrassed for missing the fact that they were both Korean. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. That I could have spoken Korean.”

Yoongi put his hand up then, as if to stop Taehyung’s words. “It’s no matter. I suspect, as a witch, I’m guessing? You must know a few dead languages. As for me, you’ll be lucky to find a language I don’t speak.”

It sounded like a challenge, but Taehyung was already focused on his first challenge. Playing “nice” for a year.

“Well, I guess that’s all that we needed to discuss. I’ll come back next year. I’ll hand deliver you my letter. And you can tell me how great I am at being nice!” Taehyung asserted proudly, before promptly turning on his heel and marching towards the door.

He barely took two steps before Yoongi was calling him back. The man had stood up then. Taehyung had been right, he was barely a few centimetres shorter, despite the fact that he was an elf. Taehyung made his way back sullenly, afraid that the man would take back his offer.

“Can I get your name at least? I’m familiar with our humans’ names, but I can’t say I’ve ever had the privilege of serving a fellow Holiday Town citizen.”

Taehyung smiled brightly then. The smile only grew bigger when Yoongi matched it with a sincere show of his gums and teeth.

🍀🌈🍀

At the centre of the Grand Square of St. Patrick’s Day Town stood a majestic fountain. The waters of the fountain could only be compared to a liquid rainbow. Taehyung had always theorized that there was some lighting mechanism within the fountain that helped it achieve the look. Now, as he dipped his fingers into the water, he speculated it might instead be a trick of magic. The liquid didn’t feel like water at all. The closest Taehyung could compare it to was touching a will-o’-wisp.

Yeontan too seemed to agree that the fountain didn’t use anything like water because he’d immediately jumped back onto the cobblestone when attempting to drink from it. Taehyung’s gaze lingered on Yeontan for a few moments as he settled down onto the street that was literally paved with gold. He supposed no one would care much for a rainbow fountain when surrounded with so much gold. Then again, he supposed leprechauns weren’t all that impressed by either.

He leaned back and closed his eyes, enjoying the sunshine as he continued waiting, seated on the edge of the grandiose fountain. Hoseok was always mysteriously busy, and he appreciated whatever time he could sacrifice for Taehyung, even if it meant he had to wait a bit longer than expected at their meeting point.

He wasn’t sure if he had drifted off, but when Hoseok’s voice reached him, the elder had already taken a seat next to him, and Yeontan had comfortably curled up over Taehyung’s scavenging boots.

“My Taehyung! How are you today?” Hoseok exclaimed as he picked Taehyung’s hat right off his head to lean over and press his lips to the crown of his head.

Taehyung still managed a giddy smile and flushed cheeks, despite the fact that Hoseok had greeted him in the same way for what felt to be decades now.

“Pretty good! I saw Jungkook earlier, and I’m off to see Namjoon-hyung next. And you? How have your adventures been?”

He couldn’t help but to notice the dirt and grass stains over Hoseok’s usual clothing. Citizens of the town didn’t really question whether or not Hoseok was genuinely a leprechaun, but Taehyung thought that was a bit of a naive approach when considering Hoseok only ever wore a hanbok. It may have been green, but it was a hanbok all the same. The first time he’d come to the town, to find a representative as per Yoongi’s request, he’d promptly identified Hoseok as a Dokkaebi — a Korean goblin. He’d never asked why it was a creature other than a leprechaun was granted access to the town’s vast fortune of gold and luck.

“Little late on schedule,” Hoseok answered honestly. He picked up a bottle he’d set down before pulling Taehyung out of his daydreams. “I pushed this to the last minute, sorry. But here it is, I got you the best Malt Irish Whiskey. It’s been bottled for around thirty years.”

Taehyung moved gingerly to accept the bottle, running his fingers idly over its silhouette.

“And just to confirm again, Yoongi-hyung definitely likes this stuff?” He was hesitant to ask it again, especially after Hoseok had revealed it to be the best bottle available. But, Taehyung drank so little alcohol, he had difficulty remembering what liquor his friends favoured.

“Trust me, the number of times hyung has come to town just to down Irish Bombs with me? Countless. He’ll love it,” Hoseok assured him, his lips painted into a radiant smile.

Taehyung didn’t really know how to feel about such a statement. He cleared his throat, prepared to just push past it, but crumbled immediately when he took note of Hoseok’s honest and sunny disposition.

“You know, hyung, Yoongi-hyung has never come to see me in Halloween Town. Like, sometimes our monthly meetings are there, you know that. But, he’s never come to see me specifically.”

He laughed as his words drifted off, trying to downplay the feeling that blossomed in his chest with the thought. Taehyung just wanted to be closer to Yoongi, and he didn’t get how that came more naturally to just about everyone else in their group. Taehyung had known Yoongi the longest. 

“You should invite him to your town sometime, then!” When Taehyung made no move to answer, Hoseok scooted closer and curled an arm around his shoulders. “Why not? Not that either of you are open about it, but you both lead pretty lonely lives.”

Taehyung couldn’t help but to point down to Yeontan.

“I’ve got my baby, I’m fine.” Before Hoseok could say anything more on the subject, Taehyung dramatically opened the lid of his basket. He reached for the bottle, and exchanged it for the small gift he’d prepared for Hoseok. “I also have this for you! I was collecting scarab beetles for this one thing for Yoongi-hyung. But, I found these two rainbow beetles. They made me think of you, so I prepared a set of earrings.”

He laughed loudly at the sour expression that coloured Hoseok’s face.

“Taehyung, I’ve said it so many times. My body is sacred, I’m not going to make holes through it for fashion. I’m sorry.”

“I know, silly. That’s why I made you clip-on earrings, come on.”

Hoseok looked much more excited then, accepting Taehyung’s help to clip them into place right then and there. Taehyung thought they looked good on him. He was hopeful the bracelet would look good on Yoongi, too. He didn’t really expect leprechauns, goblins, or elves to consider insects to be a traditional accessory choice, but he’d grown up with fellow witches weaving garlands of fireflies as a fun solstice activity.

It meant something special to Taehyung, so maybe Yoongi could happily accept it, as Hoseok had done. He pushed back the lingering fear that, actually, Yoongi just might hate his town.

It wasn’t long before Hoseok had to run off to his next errand, promising loudly that he would see Taehyung again soon. Taehyung was happy he hadn’t taken off the earrings. He wasn’t as happy, as he made the trek back to the Holiday Town Doors, mulling over Hoseok’s quick comment.

Was he lonely? Was Yoongi as lonely? Wasn’t there an easy solution if they both shared that same conundrum? He forced the thoughts out of his mind as he prepared for the travelling vortex to his next destination. He had to stay in high spirits to visit each of his friends. He aimed to always do everything nicely, and bringing worries to others certainly wouldn’t qualify.

❄️☃️❄️

Halloween Town’s very first celebrated Christmas festivities had been a glaring success. Though they were small, arduous planning had been an important part of the equation. Yoongi had sat down with Taehyung at the end of summer for a consultation that had lasted well over two hours. Together, they had mapped out the extent of Taehyung’s “nice actions” and had planned out the list of presents that could serve as an equivalent to those actions, as well as Taehyung’s expected actions for the rest of the year.

In the end, Taehyung had completed his letter with Yoongi’s personal help. He hadn’t requested anything fancy or too grandiose, but little things here and there to bring joy to different groups within his town. Some of his requests had even required Taehyung putting in some more work on Christmas morning itself. With the bucket of red paint he had asked for, he had applied a fresh coat of blood red colour to the Town Hall’s intimidating staircase.

Mostly, he’d gone from one group to the next handing out small frivolous presents. Coloured bandages for the use of the town’s mummies, special metal bristled hairbrushes for the werewolves’ tangled furs, delicately ornate parasols for the vampires, stylish ties and ribbons for the zombies, a new sign to put up in front of the ghosts’ administrative building… The list went on. One thing that hadn’t been on the list had been a present for Taehyung. So, he had been surprised to find the darkly wrapped gift box under the pine branch he had set up for the occasion. It had been the only present with a name tag. The messy cursive — it looked as if it must have once been perfectly stylized, but now was just a mess of hurried loops — was undeniably Yoongi’s. Taehyung had stared at the writing for long minutes, simply to confirm that it was indeed his name, written in hangul no less.

It had taken some time, but once Taehyung had understood the spherical night light to embody a moon, he’d nearly been moved to tears.

Even though Taehyung had originally planned on showing Yoongi his gratefulness for the delivered presents, mostly because Yoongi had been instrumental in getting to this point and because Taehyung wanted his “niceness” ranking to be stable; it was really the added gift that had pushed Taehyung to make the trip on the very next day. It was Yoongi’s unspoken thoughtfulness that had Taehyung bravely asking in the streets for Yoongi’s address when he’d realized all citizens of Christmas Town had the day off on December twenty-sixth.

And it was Taehyung’s memory of Yoongi’s patient and impartial help throughout the process that convinced him to knock at his door. Yoongi’s house was half-timbered, and looked like a miniature house pulled straight out of a German fairytale.

Taehyung already felt gauche as he waited by the door, a stone plate of cookies hidden within his ingredient basket. It wasn’t as if he was really well-versed in the arts of baking desserts. Anything he’d baked in the past had much more sinister purposes.

He felt unexplainably awkwarder when the door opened, revealing the elf dressed in beiges and whites, rather than green. Dyeing his hair a faded moss green colour on Christmas Eve felt like a terrible idea now that he was faced with Yoongi, who looked classical and sophisticated, rather than tackily festive as Taehyung had pictured Christmas Town would be.

“Taehyung?” Yoongi prompted him when he made no move to explain his visit. “Did you need help?”

With a frustrated sigh, aimed at himself, Taehyung pulled out the plate. It was an inelegant venture, as twisting his wrist to angle the plate out of the basket had the cookies sliding dangerously close to the edge. In the end, Taehyung was able to safely push the grey plate into Yoongi’s hands.

His design had been cookies shaped like pumpkins wearing Santa hats. The result just looked like a strange mush of orange and red. Taehyung had little hope for the flavours. The flavour palette had been pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon, with candy cane extract. When he’d tried it, Taehyung had thought the cinnamon was probably too overwhelming. At least, he had thought to himself that morning, he hadn’t let any magic slip into the concoction.

“These are Christmas cookies! Or at least, a Halloween townsperson’s interpretation of that. That townsperson being me. This is a thank you. Yeah.”

He was self-aware enough to know that hadn’t exactly been a stellar rendition of his rehearsed speech. Somehow, Yoongi’s reaction was still a kind, brilliant, wholesome smile. He was quick to welcome Taehyung into his home. Taehyung made an effort not to drink up the sight of Yoongi’s home too eagerly.

He was still surprised to notice the sparse decorating, the bare pine tree in a corner of the one-room floor. The space didn’t look to be any different than the size of Taehyung’s own home. He guessed that the ladder to his right would lead off to a second floor and bedroom area.

“Thank you for this. Can I get you a cup of coffee?”

“Uh, no,” Taehyung replied thoughtlessly, not giving much thought to politeness. He bit his lip when he realized his refusal might have rung out rudely. Before he could agonize over whether or not his answer would be classified as “naughty”, Yoongi was politely offering again.

“Are you sure? I’d like it if you could warm up before leaving. Your nose is all red. Actually, you never dress appropriately for this weather. Maybe you should add a coat to next year’s list, huh?”

He smiled bashfully at that. He hadn’t yet confirmed with Yoongi if he could even repeat this year’s letter in the future.

“That’s nice. Thank you, but I’m not so big on coffee. Is there hot chocolate… it’s alright if there isn’t!” He raised his hands with the last few words. Yoongi’s work building had a cafeteria that served the best hot chocolate Taehyung could even fathom. As far as he knew, hot chocolate was pretty customary around these parts, but Yoongi might not like it. Yoongi, who was barely shorter than Taehyung was, who wore soft cream colours at home, who didn’t decorate his personal Christmas tree, and who hadn’t looked judgemental at all of Taehyung’s culinary creations. Maybe the man only drank black coffee and wouldn’t serve Taehyung anything else.

Rather than rejecting the idea, Yoongi quietly retrieved items from different cupboards, pulling out powdered white cacao and coloured miniature marshmallows. He hummed amusedly as he pulled out two matching mugs.

“You essentially petitioned so that your town could celebrate Christmas, and now you’ve turned down coffee in favour of hot chocolate? You’re putting me to shame.”

Taehyung smiled, endeared. When he felt small paws press into the knees of his pants, he was just a bit relieved that he could focus on Yoongi’s poodle rather than come up with a good comeback.

He crouched down to pet the dog’s fur softly. “Hey, puppy,” he whispered, making his voice louder only to ask Yoongi whether he could give the dog treats he’d prepared for him.

“You made dog treats? I don’t have to worry about them being bewitched, do I?”

Taehyung raised his eyebrows in surprise. Yoongi hadn’t asked the same about the pumpkin cookies. Either he was even sweeter than Taehyung had previously imagined and cared that strongly and selflessly for his dog, or he’d never had the intention of taking a single bite of Taehyung’s prepared cookies. He was wishing for the former.

“No, hyung! I make these for Yeontan all the time, so they’re probably even tastier than the cookies, honestly.”

Over the cups of hot chocolate, Taehyung managed to feed Holly three whole treats. Of course, he also found out the dog was named Holly, and wasn’t in any need of Taehyung’s life elixirs. Yoongi had a reserve of bottled Fountain of Youth waters, to ensure that he would always have his canine companion by his side. Taehyung was happy to hear it, and secretly imagined Holly becoming Yeontan’s close friend. He didn’t bring that up, but Yoongi did manage to ask about Yeontan, who Taehyung had left behind for the day. Christmas day had tired the hellhound out.

In the end, when Taehyung attempted to leave the household by making a few closing comments on the beauty of Yoongi’s home, the elf led him towards the backdoor instead.

“Actually, the house is not much. I really only purchased it because of how vast the garden space was. It’s a little silly looking back on it now. It’s not like spring will ever come. There won’t ever be birds chirping and bathing in the birdbaths. The snowdrops manage to bloom for a week a year or so, but… well, here it is.” Yoongi gestured calmly towards the vast backyard.

Taehyung looked around at the many pine trees and the stone walls of the garden.

“It’s already beautiful as it is,” Taehyung managed in the silence.

Yoongi shrugged. Taehyung was surprised to see the dejected air with which Yoongi did so.

“I know I could probably just build a greenhouse, or get others at work who specialize in building to help out. Or I could just raise the flowers inside of the house. But, I don’t know. I just had this vision when I bought the house. Again, silly, because it’s not like the lawn ever gets to be green here.”

Taehyung remained silent, but allowed himself to imagine the space, bursting with too many flowers over a layout of spring green.

🎆🇺🇸🎆

Taehyung read a lot about the world of humans, but Hoseok was the one he turned to when he wanted to know more. It was also Hoseok who had taught him most of the Korean recipes he now knew. Out of their gang of friends, he was the only one who really travelled the world as part of his work. Jimin had gone a number of times, but his visits were infrequent and very focused, unlike Hoseok who would roam around for treasure. As for his town, other creatures visited humans, but only on the night of Halloween. Taehyung could only guess that the atmosphere of scaring children and adults alike on cold Halloween nights diverged from the normal workings of the human world.

In that sense, visiting Independence Day Town was the closest he’d ever been to the world of humans. Of course, the town existed magically, as one of the seven Holiday Towns, and most of the firework designers and workers were elves, but there was another side to the town. The people who worked in the glass buildings were actually American government workers, who had passed a strenuous security clearance process. Or, Namjoon had told him, it had felt strenuous when he had gone through it in the early twentieth century. Taehyung and the other witches of his town shipped out most of their Life Elixir production to Independence Day Town, where the government workers had to take an assigned amount with each passing day.

When Yoongi had sent Taehyung searching for a representative of each Holiday Town, he’d zeroed in on Namjoon, who’d seemed to be the only Korean American employee of the town, though he’d only recently arrived at the time. Back then, Taehyung had thought it would be nice of him if he could assemble a committee with which Yoongi could communicate freely in his mother tongue. Namjoon had been the last missing piece.

Though Taehyung was clearly older, he still considered Namjoon as his “hyung”. He only ever saw the man in suits, he spoke professionally and intelligently, and if Taehyung had understood it correctly, apparently wrote speeches for important political figures. Taehyung didn’t really understand the big picture, though his friend had tried explaining it in several different ways. It seemed he worked around the clock, just to make sure that the public generally appreciated the country’s system of governance enough to even accept its yearly day of celebration.

It was all very complicated, and Taehyung was curious about the human world, but whenever Namjoon elaborated on the topic, he couldn’t help but to feel his eyes glaze over. As he made his way towards the restaurant table where Namjoon was seated — he’d confirmed with Taehyung that he’d have precisely seventy minutes to spare to share lunch together — Taehyung thought that Namjoon’s job might just be a bit too complicated. The man looked like the personification of tiredness, and Taehyung couldn’t help but to notice a few more strands of silver hair on his head.

“Hyung! You’re supposed to take your elixir once a day!”

Yeontan was hot on his heels as he headed straight for Namjoon. The man looked up from his mobile device in surprise, and was quick to set it off to the side to stand up and hug Taehyung warmly. Taehyung allowed himself to stay in the embrace for longer than he usually would. He felt the awkwardness in Namjoon’s body, the human wasn’t much fond of long displays of affection. Taehyung squeezed him tighter all the same, trying to forget for a moment or two the anxiety he felt as the day moved closer to an end.

He was nervous to see Yoongi.

Taehyung pulled back, setting his features into a disapproving expression as he moved to the other side of the table. The basket was set down next to Yeontan, who Taehyung trusted to guard the prepared presents diligently.

“Ah, Taehyung. You look well, I like the red hair.” Namjoon offered him a dimpled smile, which Taehyung promptly ignored; though with some difficulty. The smile wavered. “You know how I feel about it. Death is part of the natural process of things.”

“It’s in your contract!” Taehyung retorted, not entirely sure that it was.

“I know, I know. Please just, take a look at the menu. Remember, we’re on the clock here.”

Taehyung glared, frowned, pouted, flipped the pages of the menu angrily, until Namjoon relented with a soft laugh.

“Tae, I do take my doses. Or, I try. I just forget from time to time. Things have been… stressful.”

Taehyung’s frown turned into something different, more vulnerable.

“I’ll come visit daily to make sure you take it, if that helps?”

Namjoon’s smile was slow and appreciative, and filled Taehyung’s heart with soft affection. When Taehyung had tried to ask Namjoon what he might want in exchange for today’s favour, Namjoon hadn’t missed a beat and had asked him to spend some time with him, to grab lunch together.

Taehyung thought, out of all of them, it was probably easiest for Namjoon to meet Yoongi’s niceness standards.

“How about you start by choosing what you want to eat? I think I still look pretty young and handsome for now. If I become too grey, then I’ll take you up on the offer.”

Taehyung nodded resolutely and promised himself he would keep a close look on Namjoon in their future monthly meetings.

Lunch was a quiet and calm affair. So much so that Taehyung wondered if Namjoon had sensed how high-strung Taehyung truly had been. Namjoon had coffee after their meal, at which point Taehyung begun inspecting the customized sparklers he’d asked Namjoon to commission for him. Once lit, they were supposed to emit green flames with red sparks.

He bent below the table to find the two lanterns he’d prepared for the sparklers. One of the local grim reapers, who liked to take up some requests as a part-time blacksmith, had prepared the black lanterns.

Taehyung sat up straight as he tried to impress Namjoon with his magical tricks. He lit the sparklers with a snap of his fingers, ignoring Yeontan’s whine from underneath the table, and pronounced a few spells to both eternalize the flames that sparked, and to extrapolate them from their sticks. He was quick to shove each set of flames to its adjacent lantern, especially under the stressed looks he could feel from the restaurant’s staff.

He thought the result was romantic, both lanterns glowing green and sparking red. It would be the cutest, most Christmas-like decoration for Yoongi’s office. Especially when Yoongi had to stay in late, and was next to alone in the building. Maybe the glow and shine of the lanterns would remind him of Taehyung.

“Woah, spooky!” Namjoon eventually exclaimed, mouth falling open in an expression that didn’t quite please Taehyung.

“You mean magical and whimsical, right?”

Namjoon tilted his head then. “Well, whimsical and magical in the same way that you are.” He gestured towards Taehyung as if that could bring more clarity.

Instead of seeming reassured, Taehyung gasped loudly. “Uh, no! It’s supposed to look magical like Christmas Town, not like Halloween Town!”

The following silence was just long enough that the waiter was able to approach the table with the cheque, which Taehyung was ultimately successful in paying by himself. Namjoon looked dissatisfied.

“So, the lanterns?” Taehyung asked again once the waiter had left their table.

“Well, I mean. They’re gothic-styled. And the light is mostly green… It looks kind of eyrie, that’s all.” Taehyung was sure he didn’t manage to school his crestfallen expression, because Namjoon continued in a soothing tone. “If Yoongi-hyung loves you this much, I’m sure he’s going to love spooky Halloween lanterns, too.”

“He doesn’t love me that much,” Taehyung grumbled back, feeling the anxiety spread out through his chest again as he packed the lanterns up with care.

“He loves you that much,” Namjoon argued dully as he also prepared to leave, pulling out his phone, no doubt to go through the avalanche of emails he had received over the course of lunch.

“Ah, wait!” Taehyung set his basket down over his lap, looking through it quickly before pulling out the small wooden item victoriously. “Here it is! I made this amulet for you. It’s not, like… I don’t really know that much about shintoism, but I did my best. This should protect you and bring you luck.”

He leaned over the table and set it down before Namjoon.

“Tae, this is — ”

Taehyung continued, determined and almost begging for Namjoon to receive his present well. “It’s not that I don’t think you can protect yourself. And I don’t think you’re clumsy, I hate when you say that. It’s just, your work has seemed pretty troublesome. I thought it would be nice to keep something like this on you.”

Namjoon pressed his lips together. Taehyung could see he was just touched enough that he wouldn’t want to share another hug. The more affected Namjoon was, the less likely he was to be overly affectionate.

“It’s uh, yeah. I know you’re not familiar with these things. Governments come and go, but this one has just been really hard to work with. I really appreciate this, and your friendship, Tae. You’re wonderful.”

Taehyung watched, through embarrassingly quickly forming tears, as Namjoon brought the amulet over his chest.

He wanted to ask Namjoon if Yoongi would think the same when Taehyung dropped by that night. Ultimately, he decided to keep that to himself. Well, he might have slipped a word of it or two to Yeontan as they made their way, once again, to the seven doors sculpted into the trees.

❄️☃️❄️

Taehyung took his time forming the letters on the paper. He’d borrowed one of Yoongi’s fountain pens, and the angle he had to write in was unfamiliar. But, he was focused on perfecting his calligraphy.

The truth was that, this being his fifth Christmas letter, he didn’t really need Yoongi’s guidance. There had been no need for him to show up at Yoongi’s office to write his letter. So far, he hadn’t even consulted Yoongi about what he should and shouldn’t ask for. The last four years had taught him to ask for little. Christmas Town always delivered, and in his case, always managed to exceed his requests and expectations.

He could have written this letter in the comfort of his home. There was no need for him to be here. Yet, writing the letter in Yoongi’s presence felt like tradition now.

He glanced upwards to where Yoongi was relaxing on his office’s sofa. Taehyung had taken a seat on the floor near the sofa. Yoongi had commented that Taehyung was falling back into childhood, writing a letter for Santa Claus on the floor. Taehyung’s childhood was so far away, he could barely picture it now. Santa Claus certainly had played no part in it.

Yoongi was leafing through stacks of unfolded letters. Taehyung was a little too shy to ask directly what it was he was doing. His gaze travelled to Yoongi’s left, to the real reason Taehyung had decided to collapse onto the floor to write his letter. Holly had been primly seated on his pillow, up until Yeontan had leapt up to join him. Now, they were cosily cuddled together, napping quietly.

“Taehyung? Drawing a blank?”

The quirk of Yoongi’s lips felt familiar now, even though Taehyung could still keep count of the number of times he had been in the same room as Yoongi. But, Yoongi, Taehyung only associated to warm moments and feelings. The moment every Christmas when he’d discover the additional box. Everything seemed to point towards Yoongi preparing the gift for him personally. The feeling he’d get when he clumsily returned the gesture the morning after Christmas and Yoongi went out of his way to show Taehyung he appreciated the thought. He never put it in so many words, but Taehyung always understood it that way.

Yoongi was Taehyung’s embodiment of Christmas. And goodness, he was finding out how special and wonderful Christmas was.

He shook his head slowly, once he remembered why it was that Yoongi’s lips had drawn themselves into a smirk. He was teasing Taehyung, about his lack of inspiration or maybe about having his head up in the clouds. Taehyung was inspired. And he was focused. He was just stalling for time. He would have to go through a full season before seeing Yoongi again, as the tradition they’d established dictated. Autumn was still his favourite season, but it was a little glummer than usual now that he knew Yoongi. And didn’t know how to make him part of his favourite season.

He looked back down towards his paper before daring to speak. He wondered if it was really alright for him to like Yoongi this much. He wondered if Yoongi even saw him as a friend, or just some sort of weird business acquaintance.

“I’m not drawing a blank. I know exactly what to ask for, and the words to use. I just want to write it nicely. I think that’s nicer of me, you know?”

“You worry too much about that,” Yoongi muttered, as he turned his attention back to his stack of papers. He’d spoken low enough that Taehyung doubted he was supposed to answer. So, he remained quiet, and continued gliding the nib of the pen over the parchment-like paper.

By the time he’d read over his letter three times, he still hadn’t come up with an excuse to stall further. Maybe he’d thought of asking Yoongi to go out to eat, or maybe inviting him over to explore Halloween Town, or seeing the home Taehyung had made for himself, but ultimately none of those invitations were ones Taehyung was brave enough to utter. Thus, he stayed seated, wondering how to bring up the fact that he had written his letter and that there was nothing further keeping him there.

Thankfully, it was Yoongi who brought up the finished letter.

“How did it go? Do you want me to give it a second editorial glance?”

Taehyung was fairly certain that it was Yoongi himself who reviewed his letter personally at the end of the entire process. Sure, he had an entire department at his service, but Taehyung’s letter was the only non-human letter the town received.

He handed the letter over all the same. He crawled closer to the sofa to pet between Yeontan’s ears as the small creature slept the afternoon away. He was disappointed when Yoongi spoke up. The letter wasn’t so brief, he’d hoped Yoongi could have read through it very slowly. He would have been happy if Yoongi had taken hours to get through it.

“Doesn’t look like you need any help anymore, huh?”

Taehyung rested his elbows onto the sofa’s cushion, tried not to pout too openly as he nodded in agreement.

“Actually, Taehyung. There was something I’ve been meaning to bring up with you.”

The pout was long forgotten as Taehyung turned his head to look at Yoongi directly. The man’s eyes were still on the letter. Taehyung wondered if the elf was acting bashful.

“Uh huh?”

He grimaced slightly at the worried tone in his voice, but relaxed when he saw the reaction it provoked in Yoongi. The other seemed to relax in his seat, and lazily met Taehyung’s eyes with a returning grin.

“Christmases in Halloween Town are pretty successful now, aren’t they?”

“Well, it’s not like we have Christmas stuff around for the season. But, people look forward to Christmas day. Everyone is always happy to receive their gifts. There’s no like cultural erasure because of it. Actually, I think the elves working on our gifts try to make the packaging spooky looking! It’s pretty cute.”

He smiled with all his teeth as he spoke, and was amused to see Yoongi imitating the smile, maybe subconsciously.

“I see. So it’s a big success, by my standards, anyway.” Yoongi took a moment to set the stack of letters aside. “I’ve been advocating to the board of directors for a pilot project. I think it would be interesting to look into sending gifts to the five other Holiday Towns.”

Taehyung didn’t manage to suppress his awed “wow!” Yoongi appeared so hardworking in Taehyung’s eyes, Taehyung would have never guessed that he was creating more work for himself in this manner.

“I think your approach to the naughty or nice problem was pretty ingenious. Some of these towns would have no problem qualifying each citizen as nice, but I think the volume of letters we’d be receiving is a little too much. So, I was hoping you could help out. Do you think you could recruit a representative for each town? They would essentially have the role you play for Halloween Town, but for their respective locations.”

Taehyung had travelled to other realms, but it was almost always for the purposes of collecting ingredients. Talking to people from different realms was an intimidating thought. He couldn’t picture himself striking up a conversation with a leprechaun, or a cherub. Regardless, he nodded seriously and avidly in response to Yoongi’s request.

“Thank you, Taehyung. I’m thinking the seven of us will be able to form some sort of committee for the Christmas celebrations throughout the Holiday Towns. We could do something like monthly meetings. What do you think?”

Suddenly, Taehyung was ready to speak with every single magical creature he could find. If that’s all that was needed for him to see and speak to Yoongi on a monthly basis.

“Of course! I’ll get you a perfect committee, you’ll see! You better reward me with lots of nice points for this!”

Yoongi’s answering smile was the sweetest Taehyung had seen yet. Taehyung was sure his face had flushed as he had smiled back. He’d never seen such a charming smile before. Even incubi and succubi back home couldn’t manage such an appealing expression.

He felt the urge to hug Yoongi closely. Maybe even curl up with Yoongi for a nap, as their canine companions had done. But, that thought was strange, wasn’t it?

He ended up leaving sooner than he would have liked. However, he knew he’d be back in the office before the next full moon. He had a team to recruit, but he would do that diligently and promptly, to make sure he could see more of those exquisite smiles as soon as possible.

💘👼💘

If he had had to guess, Taehyung would have said Yoongi’s favourite town was Valentine’s Day Town. The community was really just a mixture of top tier chocolatiers, florists, and gardens as far as the eye could see. Taehyung’s frequent experimentation with flower hybrids often had him visiting the town for advice or for a few additional specimens.

Cherubs were a common sight within the town, and actively participated in its socio-economic dimensions. However, it was well known that their missions were entirely different from preparing chocolate or floral arrangements. Jimin had shown him his quiver of arrows enough times for that reality to sink in for Taehyung. Jimin had even let him hold one of his arrows once, gleaming golden, and arrowhead reminiscent of the shape of a heart.

In a lot of ways, Taehyung believed cherubs were the most powerful creatures he knew of. Though the town was quaint, albeit impressive in its Roman-styled architecture; Jimin’s home seemed to exist in a place outside of time. He’d always cover Taehyung’s eyes when he wanted to invite him over, and Taehyung didn’t feel anything swooping like he would when traveling from one town to the other. Rather, it was a blink of an eye, and then he would suddenly only be surrounded by skies and resting on a pile of clouds that he apparently could not sink through.

Today, the clouds were just a few shades of pink lighter than Jimin’s current hair colour.

Taehyung busied himself with giving Jimin his present first. He knew they would probably have the same argument again over what he could and couldn’t give Yoongi in his care package. He could postpone that.

He kept a watchful eye over Yeontan, who seemed set, somewhere already in the distance, on setting the clouds on fire. However, all that escaped him were small clouds of smoke as he yapped enthusiastically. Taehyung sighed, endeared, just as his hand found the small screw-capped bottle he had prepared for Jimin. He pulled out the bottle, its shape somewhat gourd like, and its contained liquid a shimmering amber colour.

When Jimin immediately leaned over to grab the bottle, Taehyung put a hand over his chest and pushed him back with a “tsk”.

“Let me explain first! You can dip your arrowheads into this potion, I’ve been working on the recipe since we last talked about it. You said you should have a new target soon, right?”

Jimin’s eyes had gone shockingly wide.

“I am! Really soon! My estimate is within the next three years! Is this for… Well, what does it do?”

Taehyung smiled, feeling satisfied by the excitement pouring out of his angelic friend. He settled down comfortably next to Jimin, turning the bottle every which angle to watch how the beams of sunlight changed the shimmer of the concoction.

As a cherub, Jimin listened to his arrows. This resulted in the arrows finding the hearts of a fated pair, or sometimes more than a pair, but Jimin had said he hadn’t had that sort of mission yet. Then, what followed, was that Jimin couldn’t shoot another arrow until the fated match realized their love for one another. This sometimes resulted in watching souls resurrect over and over, nearly missing each other in one life to the next. Jimin was left to shoulder the misery of unfulfilled love until the match fructified.

Taehyung hated to see how downtrodden Jimin could become.

“Well, it should boost the recipient’s courage and drive. So instead of the result being a lovesick target, they should be a love-driven target!”

They laughed together as Jimin finally took the bottle from him.

“I guess it would be worth a shot? I can report back to you and we can work on modifying dosage if it doesn’t have the intended effect.”

“That sounds great,” Taehyung answered slowly. He couldn’t help but to wish Jimin would have attacked him with an onslaught of questions. He was ready to answer. He was ready to describe how the potion worked. He was ready to sell Jimin on it. He was ready to be his test subject. He wasn’t ready to argue with Jimin about what he should do about Yoongi.

“So?” Jimin asked in an even more excited tone, scooting closer to Taehyung. “Today is the big day, huh? You’re going to confess your undying love to Yoongi-hyung?”

“No,” he replied stubbornly.

It was Taehyung’s fault Jimin even knew of his affections. He’d assumed cherubs just knew of all matters of the heart through osmosis, as if they kept on record every loving feeling ever felt in the world. And so, when he’d brought up his feelings casually, thinking Jimin was the best person to discuss them with, he had been met by a shockingly surprised Jimin. He’d immediately understood his mistake. Unfortunately for him, Jimin still hadn’t let go of the knowledge.

“Uh huh. Then why have you asked me for one of my arrows for your care package, like, twelve times already?”

So, they were doing this. Taehyung took a deep breath, ready to plead his case.

“Well, if you said yes! Then I could one hundred percent confess. I’d tell him about my feelings, and then I’d be like, ‘oh, by the way. If you want to be with me, you can just stick this arrow into your chest, then you can reciprocate my feelings. And we can be together!’ Perfect, right? ‘Cause feelings aren’t super rational. But, if rationally, he can tell I’d be a great partner. He can just decide to fall for me, in a totally rational decision, thanks to your provided arrow!”

Jimin stared at him like he was a lunatic. As he had done every other time they had discussed the matter.

“He can’t just stick it in, Tae! It has to be shot by a cherub.” He didn’t say it with enough gusto for Taehyung to believe he had reduced his list of issues to that single detail. He pushed forward all the same.

“Well, same thing. I give him the pitch, and if he says yes, we go see you and you shoot!”

“We don’t get to pick who the arrow is destined for. The arrow knows. And we never shoot an arrow without another counterpart.”

“Then you shoot an arrow into me, too! We both know that wouldn’t change how I feel.”

Jimin sighed, it was a pitying sound, and Taehyung felt just a bit more embarrassed.

“Maybe one of us has an arrow destined for you. Maybe you’ve already been shot. The same could be said about hyung. Then what?”

“Exactly, I can feel this. Two of your arrows, they told me. They’re destined for Yoongi-hyung and me. See? No issue.”

A deep sigh.

“Tae. People get shot before they meet each other. So, no.”

Taehyung blinked a few times, tried to focus on the feathers of Jimin’s wings, tried to understand the anatomy of his wings. There weren’t any creatures in Halloween Town that had two sets of wings like he did. His voice was still shaky when he gathered the strength to say more, despite his best efforts.

“Then can’t you please tell me? Is he destined to be with someone else? Are we destined to be together?”

He was still focused on Jimin’s wings when the other linked their fingers together warmly. “Even if I personally shot you with one of my arrows, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. Everything we do as cherubs is kept confidential. So, if someone else had shot you, I would never, ever know about it anyway.”

“Can you at least tell me if it’s only humans who get shot?”

Jimin shook his head, and Taehyung watched his pink coloured hair bounce with the movement.

“It shouldn’t matter to you though, Tae. You can love each other without one of these. Why does this matter so much to you?”

“I just want to give him a way to return my feelings.” The words were small, spoken quietly. Though up in Jimin’s field of clouds, it was a little hard for his words not to carry to his friend.

He’d hoped the topic had been dropped entirely when Jimin floated away, pulling a light looking cloud towards him, and pulling a white box from it.

“Here, this is my contribution to the care package. No complaints, please. I had my favourite chocolatier work on this one.”

Taehyung managed to not grumble, but it didn’t keep him from pouting and sulking as he opened the baker’s box. His sullen expression did somewhat dim when he saw the creation.

It was white chocolate, but the design was a recognizable plant. A Jacob’s ladder, the white pearl breed. This was the exact plant he’d first managed to train into resisting the heavy snowfalls of Christmas Town. Of course, the presented chocolate was the regular height the plant would take in its natural habitat, somewhere around fifty centimetres. Taehyung’s experiments had created a plant that towered well over both him and Yoongi. He’d been frightened Yoongi would find the plant to be ghastly, something like a freak accident of nature.

When he had helped Yoongi plant the flower in his garden, Yoongi had excused himself. At that point, he had truly believed Yoongi had been shocked by the size of it, and that maybe he was trying to sort out a way to tell Taehyung that he hated it before returning. When he had in fact returned, his eyes were red enough that Taehyung had gathered the plant was hideous to the point that Yoongi had cried in his bathroom.

However, as years passed, Yoongi both named the plant and continuously updated Taehyung on its wellbeing. To this day, Taehyung was pretty sure it was the most beloved creature in Yoongi’s garden.

He wasn’t quite sure how Jimin knew about it.

So, with a tight throat, he tried to ask Jimin.

“How come, you, well… you knew hyung liked this kind of plant?”

Jimin rolled his eyes, and helped Taehyung close the box back up. Taehyung’s basket was starting to feel like a bit of a puzzle, and a heavy one at that. Together, they managed to fit the box alongside the one Jungkook had prepared for him much earlier in the day. Taehyung was relieved he’d spelled the basked to accommodate for more than its physical dimensions should actually allow. As they worked on placing everything in a way to avoid any accidents, Jimin finally spoke up.

“I’ve been to hyung’s place. He’s shown me his garden, talked about every little plant he has in there.” Taehyung was beaming with that information, more than ecstatic that his perpetual efforts to bring some of the life Yoongi had once imagined for his garden into the world had brought some sense of pride to Yoongi. But, Jimin only gave him a passing and exasperated glance before continuing in a tone that surprised Taehyung in its seriousness. “Do you know what it’s called when a garden uses only white blossoms?”

Taehyung thought of the south wall of Yoongi’s garden. All white blossoms. He’d grouped them together so clearly that Taehyung usually tried his best to have the white breeds he was growing at home survive his various manipulations and spells. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been successful with his current batch.

“Uh, not a great garden when your landscape is snowy?”

He tried to laugh, but he felt mildly guilty with the comment. Yoongi had a pretty amazing garden, it wasn’t his fault the elements were so strictly against him.

“No, silly. It’s a moon garden. It’s best viewed in the dark, when the moonlight is reflected by the whites of the petals.”

Taehyung blinked, maybe a bit dumbly. He’d invested so much time in botanical experimentations, but it wasn’t his fault that his town wasn’t as focused on flowers as Jimin’s was. How had he been supposed to know such a fact?

“Alright.”

Jimin rolled his eyes again, and he looked just a bit more fed up.

“You’re not listening, are you? He made a moon garden. Doesn’t the moon make you think of anyone?”

Taehyung’s empty stare stayed just long enough for Jimin to put a hand out towards him and to raise his eyebrows meaningfully.

Taehyung’s response was mostly stuttered.

“What? Me? No, I don’t think so.”

Jimin giggled, looking happy that Taehyung had caught up with his train of thought. He flicked his fingers against the clasp of Taehyung’s cloak, the one shaped to be a silver moon.

“If you say so, moon boy. Why did you pick this specific day to get a package to Yoongi again?”

This year’s last full moon.

Taehyung crossed his arms.

He did still thank Jimin profusely before leaving his home. And when Jimin left him at the magical doors, Taehyung hugged him tightly. His feathers felt soft to the touch. He put aside the thoughts of golden arrows, and instead wondered if Yoongi thought of him whenever he looked at the moon, or whenever he looked at his garden under the moonlight.

❄️☃️❄️

Taehyung had lost count. This year might have been his seventieth Christmas celebration. He couldn’t quite remember. By now, he’d very much lost count of how many times he’d been in Yoongi’s presence. These monthly meetings were truly a blessing. He’d figured out, at some point, that Yoongi considered the small group to be his friends, not anything like business partners. They nearly never spoke about business, unless it was the August or December meeting. Most of them brought presents for Yoongi during the January meeting. Taehyung guessed it was to repay Yoongi for his always thoughtful and meaningful Christmas gifts.

Taehyung still visited Yoongi on December twenty-sixth. He’d come to the January meeting empty-handed, but no one ever commented on the fact.

This year’s February meeting was held in Hoseok’s favourite tavern. Taehyung loved St Patrick’s Town, it was always lively. They’d made sure to schedule the meeting after Valentine’s Day, and were graced by Jimin’s many scorned stories of grumpy workers throughout his town. As per Taehyung’s eternal request, the meetings were never held on full moon nights. Full moons were reserved for witching activities.

“Should we have another round?” Jungkook asked, smile on full display as he loudly slurped through the metal straw. His shot glass had long been emptied.

Hoseok had brought a brand new recipe from the world of humans, and had coached the bartender through it. He’d insisted on ordering the shot for everyone, declaring that he was celebrating the flames of love, to congratulate Jimin on another year of celebrations of love.

While Taehyung liked the town, he usually came up with reasons not to pour alcohol into his system. He mostly liked to say that it affected his magic. Most everyone around the table had some magical aptitudes, but said nothing about Taehyung’s supposed excuse.

When he’d discovered the B-52 shot was served flaming, blue flames licking high up towards his lips, he’d caved in. He’d regretted not bringing Yeontan with him, who’d surely would have been excited by the sight of flames in everyone’s glasses. And then, as he was instructed by Hoseok to sip the shot quickly through the metal straw, to avoid the glass overheating and breaking, he’d regretted caving in.

He’d quickly felt tipsy ingesting the drink at such a rapid pace. Yet, he didn’t manage to turn down Jungkook’s proposed second shot. The blue flames were pretty, the taste was creamy and sweet — like some sort of dessert, and the table was so loud. He couldn’t resist.

While Jungkook, Jimin, and Seokjin egged each other on to order yet another shot, Taehyung, Hoseok, and Yoongi had met their limit quite easily and obviously. Namjoon, who had a better palate than any of them for alcohol, ordered a different drink. Something more serious, by Taehyung’s standards anyway.

Before him, Hoseok was laughing uncontrollably as he leaned against Yoongi. Taehyung had missed the joke, but he kicked at Yoongi’s feet giddily. Yoongi’s smiling, flushed face turned to make eye contact with Taehyung. The elf rolled his eyes, and Taehyung replied in the same; as if he had known what Hoseok had done to make Yoongi so overtly amused.

“Hyung, you’re so pretty!” Taehyung shouted across the table, not once glancing away from Yoongi’s dark, shining eyes.

Yoongi’s smile grew. Taehyung couldn’t quite remember what had pushed him to say such a thing. But, it was a nice thing to say, right? It was sure to earn him some points with Yoongi. Or, with Yoongi’s organization. He was nice for the sake of his town, that was all.

To his right, Seokjin finished his third shot with an annoyed cry towards both Jungkook and Jimin. He’d complained loudly through the first two shots, as well, convinced his hair would catch on fire.

“I can’t believe you two made me drink this, when I could’ve been focused on our Taehyung’s god-awful flirting!”

Flirting? Taehyung didn’t think he’d flirted once in his life. It wasn’t really like his town was brimming with eligible love candidates. It occurred to him then that he was at a table with his six more than handsome friends. He tried to ignore that thought by taking another sip from his glass, but of course discovered it to be empty. As it had been five minutes ago.

He pouted at Seokjin, who also looked more than a little pretty. Taehyung had never really figured out what kind of creatures lived in Thanksgiving Town. They never ordered any Life Elixir from the shops of his town. But, Seokjin definitely had not aged in the time he’d known him. Maybe he was a god?

“I wasn’t,” he fought back, in what he realized was too late of a response. “Was just saying he’s pretty, which he is.”

Halfway through his sentence, his gaze had lingered back to Yoongi. Yoongi’s face was redder now, resting in his hands, but his smile was even bigger and dopier. Hoseok had thrown an arm around his shoulders, and was laughing just as loudly as before.

“Pretty? Now? He’s sweaty and drunk.”

Yoongi looked unfazed by Seokjin’s words, still smiling somewhat deliriously at Taehyung.

Namjoon intervened then from the left at the head of the table.

“I think he’s too short to handle his liquor. I’d better make sure he gets home safely tonight.”

Taehyung imagined it, Yoongi drunkenly making his way home to his petite house, maybe cuddling with Holly in bed. But… but, his bedroom was up that ladder. What if he was too drunk and couldn’t tell where the next rung of the ladder was. What if Yoongi got hurt? Taehyung gasped, the sound hurt and dramatic.

“Hyung!” He turned towards Namjoon resolutely. “You have to, you have to help Yoongi up the ladder! He could fall! You have to watch him! He has to be safe!”

Taehyung blinked, he felt a bit dizzy. He registered that maybe he’d put too much exclamation in each of the sentences he’d spoken. He slumped forward, resting his chin atop the table.

Jimin, who’d apparently challenged Jungkook to an arm wrestling match somewhere in between Taehyung’s realization that Yoongi’s face was the prettiest, and that Yoongi might face a challenge to make it back into his bed, was next to speak up. Not disengaging from his struggle with Jungkook, he called out Taehyung’s name.

“Don’t you live on a top floor, too? Actually, how do you even get on the second floor of a mausoleum? Is there a staircase?”

Taehyung groaned. He didn’t want to think of architecture anymore. He wanted to think of Yoongi’s cute little face. The way he smiled. The shape of his face when he smiled. The shape of his teeth. The way the flush of his skin disappeared under his clothes, as if maybe his blush could travel down his chest.

He sat up then, reached out towards Yoongi and grabbed his hands. They’d still been resting over Yoongi’s cheeks, and felt fiery warm against Taehyung’s touch.

“Hyung, did you know that…”

Did you know that I love you?

Taehyung’s mouth snapped shut, and he let Yoongi’s hands drop.

Yoongi’s smile lessened, and it hurt both Taehyung’s head and his chest.

“What is it?” His voice sounded rough, as if the alcohol had scorched his throat.

Taehyung looked down. It was laughably obvious now. He was in love with Yoongi. He felt his happiest when he was around him. He thought the other was just wonderful. There was nothing about him that was bad to Taehyung. He loved every part, and the whole was so loveable he hadn’t even managed to put it into words up until just now. In the middle of a tavern, surrounded by all of their close friends.

He groaned sadly, and at that, Seokjin stood up and put an arm around Taehyung’s waist to hoist him up.

“Alright, I think he’s had a little too much to drink. I’m taking him to the bathroom.”

But, Seokjin didn’t end up leading him to a stall, he just dragged him to the dark corridor leading off to the bathrooms. He asked him quietly in the dark if he wanted to talk, and Taehyung had shaken his head.

When Taehyung had asked if they could stay there for a few minutes instead, Seokjin had accepted without asking any further questions.

Taehyung was a little terrified. Yoongi was the embodiment of Christmas. He seemed in love with his work, his dog, his house, his garden. He loved his home; he was never going to return Taehyung’s affections, Taehyung who came from something so different from his home. Yoongi hadn’t even considered for a moment that someone from Halloween Town could be anything but naughty, back when they had first met.

Taehyung didn’t know what to do. He’d only just realized his feelings, and he already knew they were hopeless. It even further terrified him to know that there was a cherub in their group of seven, who’d surely known about Taehyung’s sure to be unreciprocated feelings all along.

Yoongi was definitely less smiley when they returned to the table after a dozen of minutes.

🍁🍂🍁

Taehyung felt right at home in Thanksgiving Town. Granted, it lacked a familiar “spooky” element. But, the air was crisply autumnal, and the fallen leaves always crinkled beneath his boots as he made his way through the streets. The cuisine of the town also tasted of home, the staple flavours and spices all seemed to align perfectly.

He still remained unimpressed that Seokjin refused to share any of his recipes from his kitchen. He’d offered up recipes from the main American Thanksgiving team countless times. But, Taehyung wanted the recipes from Seokjin’s department, the Chuseok team.

Being part of the department gave Seokjin a more relaxed attitude, to the point that he’d invited the gang over last month for the November meeting. It had been a mere five days before American Thanksgiving, and Seokjin had laughed brightly at the stress that permeated his town as he used his culinary skills to invite his friends over, rather than bring some extra help to the main kitchen. Taehyung had thought that would have scored Seokjin some naughty points, but Yoongi hadn’t let anything show if he had indeed felt the same.

What Taehyung had noticed was that Yoongi had spooned himself three servings of the sweet potato casserole covered in roasted marshmallows. The dishes last month had been unusual for Seokjin, and he’d proclaimed he was using the American recipes to celebrate the upcoming holiday. Again, Taehyung had thought that might have been a little mean-spirited, but Yoongi had been focused on the sweet potatoes.

That was the reason he now had a ramekin with the very same sweet potato-marshmallow dish stored away in his basket, spelled to stay warm until Yoongi would break the surface with the spoon he’d also packed away.

“As promised, I brought you the mayor’s pumpkin pie recipe,” Taehyung declared, handing it promptly over to Seokjin.

Seokjin pushed his feet against the floor to make the wooden porch swing rock back and forth as he quickly scanned the parchment. Taehyung brought his feet up and watched as Yeontan quickly pattered back and forth to follow the movement of the swing. They were in front of the building that housed the town’s main kitchens, Seokjin had asked one of their workers to fire up the oven specifically for the dish. He’d said he wanted Yoongi to get the veritably authentic experience of the sweet potato dish. Taehyung had tried a spoonful at Seokjin’s request and found it was quite possibly better than what he’d tasted in the previous month. He kept that to himself.

“Ah, this is super interesting. They’ll really appreciate this. Don’t know what’s with their pumpkin pie obsession, I try to sneak Songpyeon into their kitchens every year, but to no avail.”

Songpyeon… Taehyung stood up brusquely.

“Oh no! Oh no, Yoongi-hyung loves songpyeon. We have to go make some. We can go make some, right? That would be more complete.”

Seokjin was quick to pry Taehyung’s hand away from his mouth, where he’d already begun chewing on his nails. And brought him back to sit down with him by wrapping an arm around his waist.

“We’re not going to do that. Because I think the perfect addition to your care package is kicking Yoongi out of his office before nightfall. And you won’t be out of here before sunset if we start making rice cakes. Not to mention that sunset is earlier in Christmas Town.”

Seokjin’s tone was relaxed, soothing, comforting. Taehyung’s breath still felt shaky as he peeked into his basket. There was still a lot. These things were just supposed to be small comforts, anyway.

“The sweet potatoes were still a good idea though, right?”

“Of course.”

Taehyung hummed, and Yeontan whined as he curled up by his feet. He knew he should get going. But, there were no other destinations left in his schedule before Christmas Town. The next stop was Yoongi’s office. He hadn’t seen him since last month. He missed him, he always felt like he missed him. But, this idea seemed like a bit much. What if Yoongi thought it was a little creepy? What if he thought it was all a tactic to make sure he was making his way to the top of the nice list?

“Jungkook came by earlier,” Seokjin started softly, not looking directly at Taehyung. He did hand him the mug of hot mulled apple cider he’d brought out for him, which Taehyung had promptly forgotten. At least, it was still warm in his hands. “He told me you were stressed about doing all this. So tell me, what’s up?”

Taehyung felt his face flush, his skin raised into goosebumps. Maybe it was the warmth in his palms that was now highlighting the cold air surrounding them.

He knew he could simply tell Seokjin what he’d told Jungkook, that he was only anxious because he wanted to do well and prepare something worthwhile for Yoongi. But, he felt at home here. And he was scared enough to want some real comfort before taking the leap.

“What if…” he licked his lips, took a slow sip of the cider. “What if this package is meant to like win him over?”

“Meaning?”

“What if the intended effect is that he’ll realize how great I am? And he could now see himself spending the rest of his life with me, or whatever.”

He was embarrassed. He was the one avoiding Seokjin’s eyes now.

“You know, Tae. There’s absolutely no reason for us to meet on a monthly basis. Maybe it would have been useful for the first year, but by now… Do you think maybe that was a tactic to see you more often?”

Taehyung actually laughed at that.

“No way, but it’s probably a tactic to see his friends. I mean, Hobi-hyung said that he was lonely, so, it makes sense he wants to see us.”

Even though, Taehyung knew, Yoongi had proposed monthly meetings before even meeting anyone else. That had been the plan from the very beginning.

“Taehyung, look at me.” Taehyung did so, albeit petulantly. “Can you tell me what Yoongi got you for Christmas last year?”

Taehyung smiled at that, naturally. The truth was, most of what made up his personal space had been gifted to him by Yoongi throughout the years.

“Ah, hyung, it was so cute! He made a painting! I think it was supposed to be a painting of his garden, I was so shocked when I saw his initials on it.” His smile grew as he spoke, remembering the clumsy strokes over the canvas. Taehyung thought it was a work of beauty. He’d hung it above his bed.

He blinked, smile dropping, as he remembered what Jimin had said about the south wall of Yoongi’s garden. Moonbeams also hit directly onto the painting of those flowers, as it faced Taehyung’s window directly.

“Well, he got me socks.”

“Oh wow, did he knit them himself?”

Taehyung was starting to feel surprised by how creative Yoongi was in just about every medium. He even had wood carvings at home made by Yoongi.

“No. He also got me socks last year. And the year before that.”

“Oh,” he repeated the onomatopoeia differently this time. “Do you two have like a secret sock pact.”

“No, Tae. Yoongi doesn’t like getting presents. We get him presents back every year just to tease him. He’s not into gift-giving. He gets all of us socks, every year.”

“But, he’s an elf!” Taehyung defended, feeling slightly affronted by Seokjin’s claim.

“I don’t know how you haven’t figured this out yet, but he’s not exactly a traditional elf.” But Taehyung had figured that out already, even in the very first year he’d met him. “My point is just that he puts extra care in what to get you every year. You don’t know how many times I’ve been consulted. It’s just been awful!”

Taehyung laughed with Seokjin, but he wasn’t quite sure why it was he was laughing. At his feet, Yeontan had jerked awake, and his eyes were focused intensely onto Seokjin.

“I’m sorry, I don’t really get your point,” he managed to get out once he’d abruptly stopped laughing.

Seokjin’s laughter only became more booming and genuine then.

“Ah, Taehyung. I’m saying that you don’t have to win Yoongi over at all.”

❄️⛄❄️

Holly was at the door as soon as Taehyung nudged it open. The next moment, Holly was chasing Yeontan around the office. Before he could decide whether he’d join the two, or break them apart, Yoongi had dramatically heaved out a huge sigh and thrown his glasses down onto the desk.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re here. I can’t handle this anymore, let’s go out and grab a bite to eat.”

Taehyung couldn’t help but to snicker at Yoongi’s form, some of his stress dissipating now that he was in his presence. Ironically enough, Yoongi’s least favourite month of the year was December. He tended to be called upon to assist other departments in preparation for the town’s big night. It didn’t seem to be his favourite part of working as a Christmas elf.

He was tempted to just accept Yoongi’s request and forget about his basket’s contents. Instead, he made his way to Yoongi’s desk seriously, and spat out his first line, as he had rehearsed for all of the previous week.

“Hyung, today is the last full moon of the year!”

He hadn’t expected Yoongi to add commentary to his big speech.

“Right, it’s the Cold Moon.”

Yoongi had spoken matter-of-factly. He hadn’t searched for the term. He’d stated it plainly. Taehyung both thought of Jimin’s comments earlier, and of the fact that Yoongi definitely had not known of the names for full moons when they had first met.

These thoughts gave him enough of a pause that Yoongi continued with a more hesitant tone. “Oh, are you here on business then? I know you like to keep busy on full moons.”

“Yes!” And with that, he slammed the ebony basket down onto Yoongi’s desk. Right over a pile of unidentifiable papers. Taehyung didn’t recognize the language written. He only had a brief thought for the delicate contents of the basket. He would probably burst into tears if one of the eggs had broken. That would be as bad an omen as he could imagine. But, he pushed himself back to his script. “Everyone’s pitched in to prepare you a care package, to help you for these last two weeks before Christmas.”

Yoongi’s lips were pursed, but parted. Eyes wider now, and expressing the sort of excitement Taehyung was accustomed to when he would hand out presents in his town. He was surprised to see such an expression cross Yoongi’s features, it was different than the one he would wear when Taehyung would visit him on December twenty-sixth.

Taehyung cleared his throat, retrieved the last object he’d packed up today, and handed the ramekin and the spoon over to Yoongi purposely. “You said you were hungry, so you can start with this! I mean, I hope you’re hungry for something sweet…”

Yoongi had scooped a bite into his mouth before Taehyung could verbalize more caveats. Yoongi hummed softly, his expression had shifted a bit now, to a warm and delicate smile.

“I can’t believe hyung noticed I loved these. That’s thoughtful…”

Taehyung could let that slide. A nice person wouldn’t go out of their way to discredit a friend’s work. Seokjin had arranged for that cook to prepare it, even if it had been Taehyung’s idea. And Taehyung who had noticed how much Yoongi loved the dish. It was fine.

He pulled out the box from Valentine’s Day Town next, setting it down on a relatively empty portion of the desk, before lifting the top to reveal the creation.

“Well, really hope you have a sweet tooth today. You can have this after, Jimin said it was by the best chocolate person he knows, so it must be good. And white chocolate is your favourite.”

“And it’s shaped like Violetta,” Yoongi completed for him.

Right, that had been the name he’d given to the Jacob’s ladder. Years later, Taehyung still thought it was a little unfitting, but he smiled in response nonetheless.

“Oh, and, I don’t know how chocolate and liquor mix. But, Hoseok said this one is the best.”

He handed the bottle to Yoongi, who made a low sound in his throat; as if impressed by the quality of the product.

Taehyung had managed to give him half the contents of his basket in a matter of minutes, but now he was losing some steam. Edible gifts seemed easier than anything else. If he hated the next gifts, he’d have to awkwardly find a way to get rid of them, which didn’t involve any ingesting.

Again, he thought of just forgetting about what remained and taking Yoongi up on his “grabbing a bite” offer, though the other was eating away at the sweet potatoes with pleased sighs already. He knew he couldn’t really do that, it would reflect poorly on both Jungkook and Namjoon if he did.

“Taehyung, this is so nice,” Yoongi whispered. Taehyung didn’t know what to make of the tone, but it pushed him to pull out the next items. He had to be nice to all of his friends, which meant he couldn’t pretend they’d failed to participate.

“Well, this next one I thought it would just look nice in your office. And if ever you were left behind in the office, and all the lights went out, you could use these to guide your way out.” He pulled out the lanterns then. He was mildly relieved to see the spellwork had been effective and the greens and reds were still sparking within them. “I had Namjoon commission the sparklers, but I don’t think he was all about this design. So if you think it’s too spooky, you can blame it on me.”

Taehyung didn’t have time to feel too dejected, as Yoongi was already setting the lanterns at each corner of his desk. “These look great. Thank you. Now I can think of you and you’ll bring me light in my darkest hours.”

His mouth felt dry, he laughed awkwardly, and pretended to search through the basket. He belatedly thought it would be obvious later on that it was an avoidance tactic, as Yoongi would realize there was only a box left within the basket, and nothing else.

“This one is for your fireplace!” He announced as he sprung up to his feet. He tried to be smooth as he made his way over, but he nearly tripped over their dogs, who were still excitedly reuniting.

The sound of Yoongi’s chuckling was comforting. Comforting enough that Taehyung confidently pushed Yoongi’s huge egg back to make room for its new companions. At that, Yoongi’s hiss of fear was audible.

“Tae, be careful! That thing is like priceless.”

Taehyung glanced at him over his shoulder, a serious frown in place. “Yeah, but it’s all lonely up there. So Jungkook and I painted him some friends. Look, I’ll set them up!”

The process of putting down the eggs in the order of the rainbow, as he’d previously planned, was painstaking and slow. Especially with Yoongi’s eyes focused intensely on his movements.

He was surprised when Yoongi blandly stated that “I like the two you painted the best.”

“Thanks, those are you and me. They’re all supposed to represent one of us, get it?”

“Yeah.”

His basket was empty now. Everything had felt like such a big endeavour earlier, but now it was reduced to just a few decorations for Yoongi to keep safe. He let the basket drop to the floor and reached within his cloak to find the velvet bag. It was time to give Yoongi the bracelet, the one he’d poured his heart into.

“And one last thing. I made this.” He watched intently as Yoongi delicately pulled the bracelet out from the pouch. He didn’t give him a chance to refuse the gift, immediately stepping closer to attach the bracelet around the dainty curve of Yoongi’s wrist. “It’s mithril and scarab beetles. It kind of feels now like I could have just made a bracelet with gemstones.” He wiggled his fingers awkwardly, feeling the weight of his own jewelry. “But, I did dye them using gems. Uh, I don’t know. I think the result is pretty, so.”

Yoongi held up his arm, as if trying to see the bracelet when the light reflected off of it just right. Taehyung averted his gaze. 

“That’s amazing,” he voiced after some time. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it. I’ll really cherish it.”

Taehyung nodded forcefully, trying to push the panic back down. He’d given everything he’d prepared. Now what? What was the next line? How was he supposed to convince Yoongi that he’d make a great life partner? He’d forgotten it all.

His panic was interrupted by Yoongi, who tugged at his cloak and continued in as soft a tone as always. “You know, you really don’t have to try so hard to be nice. I’ve known you long enough now, I can confidently say you are the nicest person I know. You shouldn’t worry so much.”

Oh, no. Taehyung had thought this might have happened. This wasn’t a nice action. This was an attempt at wooing Yoongi. He wanted to say as much.

“Hyung, this wasn’t about being nice.” He grabbed Yoongi’s hand, the one that had still been clutching his cloak. But once the hand in his, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

“What do you mean?”

The question was sincere. Yoongi had titled his head, and had repositioned Taehyung’s hand to hold it more securely.

“I just… We just wanted to show you how much we appreciate you, you know. You really brought all of us together. And, yeah! I have to go. It’s the full moon!”

Taehyung pulled his hand back, whistled for Yeontan to fall back into pace with him, and quickly grabbed his basket.

“Wait, Taehyung?”

For once, it was quite easy to ignore Yoongi’s call. He was embarrassed. More than embarrassed. And frustrated. More than frustrated. How long was it going to take before he could confess? How many plans was he going to give up on at the last minute?

A few steps away from the building, he opened his arms up for Yeontan to leap into them. Even though Yeontan was fine and the snow melted under his paws. He hugged him to his chest dearly.

Remembering a song he couldn’t quite name, he whispered the words “I think it’s not to be.” He sensed that Yeontan’s lamentable bark was a sad agreement to the lyrics.

🎃🌕🎃

“Let me build you a ladder, because that was not fun.”

Taehyung nearly fell off his bed. Aside from discarding his hat onto the pillow on the empty side of the bed, he’d collapsed in his full getup for the day. He sort of wished he had fallen off the bed, so  that he could have sneakily removed his boots. Now, Yoongi was going to think he had no regard for his bed or room’s cleanliness. Which reminded him…

“How did you make it up here?”

He watched as Yoongi looked around his room. He’d never been here before, Taehyung had never even managed to invite him before. After his talk with Seokjin, he felt self-conscious with the number of gifts he had displayed throughout the room. He was most embarrassed by the moon night light that rested on his bedside table, by the small wood carven version of Yeontan. With how long ago it had been, he wasn’t even sure Yoongi would know it was from him.

Again, he thought of Jimin’s words. Yoongi had gotten him a lunar themed gift, even after only meeting him twice.

“Oh, the family downstairs. They showed me how to climb up the vines, like you do. I had no idea you were so fit.”

He wasn’t, but he smiled at the compliment anyway. He’d almost forgotten by then that he wasn’t in the mood to be around Yoongi. Certainly not in the mood to have him looking around his room. And then, it was definitely forgotten when Yoongi leaned over to watch the carnivorous, snow covered plants Taehyung was raising.

“Ah, are these for me?” Yoongi asked, gesturing towards the small habitat.

Giving up on his sulking, Taehyung stood up and approached Yoongi. He tried not to react too obviously when Yoongi wrapped an arm around his waist. However, he did allow himself to lean his head against Yoongi’s as he watched the plants.

“Well, yeah, maybe. They don’t have the best character. Who knew holly could be so toxic…”

“Holly, huh? That’s cute.” Yoongi only laughed more freely when Taehyung’s embarrassment became clearer.

Taehyung was surprised to see Yoongi in such high spirits when Taehyung had ignored his call on the way out of his office, not even an hour ago.

“So, I live here,” Taehyung declared when nothing else came to mind.

Yoongi hummed quietly in answer.

“In a cemetery, so I saw.” Taehyung felt Yoongi’s fingers twitch where they were placed, a few centimetres above his hipbone. It took a moment or two more for Yoongi to voice what was on his mind. “Actually, I often think that it would be nice if you just lived with me. I’m sure the garden would be even more amazing.”

There was probably a lot of things he should have felt or a lot of thoughts he should have had in reaction to Yoongi’s words, but instead, he lurched forward and searched his drawers for a specific item. It was a leather-bound journal, Yoongi himself had carved constellations into the leather. He’d received it hundreds of moons ago.

He spoke avidly as he flipped the pages. “Yeah, I had this whole plan. You see how I was able to regulate the weather in that small space for my test plants? Well, why not just adjust it to full-scale, then we could have your garden go through each season! Like you’ve always wanted. Or like, the garden would be how you wanted it when spring comes.” He cut himself off, feeling frustrated by his rambling words. “But, the spells would probably mean I’d have to live there. I think I’d be too drained to do anything else.”

“Well, that’s no good. We can’t have you bedridden, can we?”

Yoongi was still acting playful, despite the planned out spells Taehyung was showing him. Maybe Yoongi had said it would “be nice” to have Taehyung around, but Taehyung had just revealed a full-fledged plan that would require for him to stay with Yoongi.

Despite that, Taehyung shook his head and proceeded to dig his grave even deeper. “I also thought that we could just move to Valentine’s Day Town. All the flower experts are there. Everything is always in bloom. And it’s not like we aren’t used to traveling with the doors. We could still go to our respective towns for work…”

He smiled pitifully. This time, he’d just revealed what was essentially his fantasy of spending the rest of his life with Yoongi.

“That’s an idea. Listen, did I maybe upset you earlier?” Yoongi’s arm finally fell away from him. Taehyung tried not to panic. This time he was in his own home, it wasn’t as if he could walk away from the situation again. “I know you don’t just treat me the way you do in order to be considered nice.”

Even though Yoongi sounded nothing like accusatory, Taehyung couldn’t help his wide-eyed stare. It did seem, however, that Yoongi had some difficulty with the conversation as well. He gestured towards the bed, and Taehyung understood the silent request to take a seat to discuss the matter. They sat side by side at the foot of Taehyung’s bed. Taehyung stared longingly at the wheel window. There were still many hours left before the full moon would appear in the window.

Taehyung bit the bullet.

“It’s just that I love you,” he confessed simply, eyes still on the sight of the night sky.

“And I love you,” Yoongi answered back without missing a beat.

As Yoongi reached out to cup his face, Taehyung noticed the bracelet was still securely around his wrist. It brought a shy smile to his lips. His smile became harder to keep in place when Yoongi finally put his palms to his cheeks.

“Like, enough to want to spend your life with me?” Even though he’d whispered the words, they didn’t feel any less sillier. He guessed it must have been unorthodox to ask someone to spend their whole lives together when confessing for the first time. But, he might as well be honest with his wants and desires.

Yoongi’d been in his life long enough for him to be sure about that.

He was still caught by surprise when Yoongi gave him a one-worded and dispassionate answer: “clearly.”

Taehyung’s face must have expressed his disbelief well enough, because Yoongi smushed his face with a loud exhale, before adding to his response.

“I know I don’t really have a gift for romance. To be fair, it had never been relevant in my life in the past. Please forgive me.”

Forgiveness wasn’t really what stood out to Taehyung in that reply.

“Romance? With me?”

“Yes, clearly,” Yoongi repeated patiently.

At that, Taehyung shyly reached out to grab the fabric of Yoongi’s green vest.

“Then, do you think you could kiss me?”

But, at the slightest nod of Yoongi’s head, it was Taehyung who moved forward and pressed their lips warmly together. He wasn’t quite able to pull back after his clumsy kiss, as Yoongi still held his face, and was angling it to lean back in to press a fond kiss to his lips.

They went back and forth, sharing first kisses, with progressively widening smiles.

“So, would you still be interested in going out to eat?” Yoongi asked, his voice sounded charmingly different from so close.

“That would be great,” Taehyung managed to reply without any stuttering or embarrassing exhales of breath. The embarrassment was starting to wash away altogether now anyway, replaced by a strong surge of happiness.

“If you don’t mind more travel for the day, we could head to Valentine’s Day Town to eat. We can take a look at the housing market while we’re at it.”

Yoongi was quick to join in Taehyung’s laughter.

Taehyung didn’t like to play favourites with the moons of the year. But, he had the feeling the Cold Moon would be his favourite for a while.