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Yoongi hates the cold. He loves winter, loves watching his loves play in the snow, loves fires by the beach. But Yoongi hates the cold. For one, it sends Seokjin away every season, off to the warmer waters for a few months. He always returns with gifts, seashells or small fish contained in magical bubbles of water. The beaches are quieter without Seokjin, empty, so Yoongi stays away. He can only be coaxed out of his cave by Namjoon’s gentle touch and a ready burning bonfire.
The other reason— the biggest reason— Yoongi hates the cold is the cold itself. He’s a dragon. Fire lives in his soul; it warms him, it protects his loves. But his cold blood leaves him vulnerable to winter wind, and Yoongi spends most of the season hidden away in a cave, hoarding his own warmth until the gray skies part way for the sun. His magic keeps the frost away, his own bubble, but there are some days, like today, where the chill beats through the gaps of Yoongi’s magic and wanders into his cave.
Before he met the others, Yoongi was used to winters alone. Weeks passed by, just him and his cave and the simple pleasures of piles and piles of tangerines. It was enough. Sometimes, Yoongi would venture out to see the sun and breathe air outside of his seasonal monotony. These breaks only lasted until a new gust of wind reminded him of his body’s weakness. It was lonely, bones aching with the cold and the silence, but it was recognizable, known. Yoongi lost himself in the familiarity.
But now he knows real warmth. He knows what it’s like to be held and cared for, how it feels to be loved. The cold takes that away. Yoongi resigns himself to the solid stone walls of his cave. Dimly, he worries his loves will forget about him while he's here. Yoongi will coffin himself in this dark, hoping for comfort that won’t come. His thoughts spiral around the fire he built himself and he lies down, wrapping his wings around his body like a false embrace.
“Hyung?” The voice bounces and echoes through Yoongi’s cavernous thoughts.
Yoongi blinks awake, eyes heavy and tired. He doesn’t remember falling asleep, doesn’t know how long it’s been since he last left the cave.
Jungkook bounds in, grinning, tail wagging. “Hey, hyung. Were you sleeping?” Jungkook whispers.
Yoongi can’t help but smile at Jungkook’s care. He stretches out, his wings unfolding to take in the heat from the fire behind him. “Yeah, but that’s okay. Did you need something, pup?”
Jungkook shakes his head. “Nope. I just wanted to see you. It’s been a few days.”
“Sorry, Jungkook-ah.” Yoongi sighs. “It’s the weather, I—”
“I know. It’s okay! I’m not upset. I thought you might be lonely.”
“I am,” Yoongi says. It’s easier to admit it than Yoongi thought it would be. He’s been stewing in his loneliness for so long, the first intrusion is enough for him to burst. The tears spill out of his eyes, freed and unburdened.
“Oh, no. Yoongi.” Jungkook drops down to collect Yoongi in his arms. Yoongi doesn’t mind feeling small today. He’d normally complain about the muscles Jungkook gained over the summer, but now that solidity is keeping Yoongi’s mind from floating back into its frosty spaces. He holds onto Jungkook’s shirt and burrows into his werewolf warmth. “There you go, hyung. You just needed some wintery cuddles.”
“You’re always so hot,” Yoongi says into the curve of Jungkook’s shoulder. His tail scrapes against the floor weakly, a lethargic wag.
Jungkook tightens his arms around Yoongi, chuckling into his soft, white hair. “Better to warm you with.”
They sit in a comfortable silence, only the crackle of flame and the sync of their breaths in their ears. Yoongi shifts around until his ear is up against Jungkook’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. His eyelids get heavy again, comfortable. Rumbles roll out of Yoongi’s chest as he dozes. It’s a rare sound for him. Rumbles are a hatchling’s habit, a sign of contentment and safety eased out by Jungkook’s embrace.
“Careful. You’ll wake him up,” Jungkook says sometime later. Yoongi is still rumbling, only partially conscious of Jungkook’s movement underneath him. The shift jarrs Yoongi’s cheek from Jungkook’s chest, lets the chill back in. Yoongi whimpers, tugging on Jungkook’s shirt to bring him back.
“He’s so cute,” another voice says. Yoongi frowns at the intruder who’s brought the cold with him. “Oh, look! He even frowns in his sleep. I wonder if he’ll let me...?”
There’s a careful touch on top of Yoongi’s head, a petting motion that trails warmth down Yoongi’s spine. His rumbles start again as he leans back into the touch. Jungkook’s arms wrap around his waist, steadying.
“Cute. He never lets me touch him like this.”
“That’s because you’re always teasing him, Tae.” Jungkook chuckles.
“Tae?” Yoongi opens his eyes, spinning around in Jungkook’s lap.
The imp grins, waving down at Yoongi. He looks cozy, a thick scarf tied around his neck. The fabric glitters in the firelight. Fairysilk, Yoongi thinks. The cloth is soft to the touch but remarkably warm. Yoongi’s eyes rove down to Taehyung’s other hand, where he holds a pair of gloves in the same fabric. Yoongi becomes aware of the cold tips of his fingers immediately. He bunches them up in Jungkook’s shirt, leaning back into the werewolf’s heat.
“Wha’re you doin’ here?” Yoongi mumbles sleepily. He squints at Taehyung, a weak attempt at his normal glare.
Taehyung laughs, crouching down to ruffle Yoongi’s hair despite his warning grumble. “I came here to check on you, just like Jungkookie. Don’t I get cuddles too?”
“Empty your pockets,” Yoongi says.
“Hyung!” Taehyung whines. “I just got here. I couldn’t have touched your tangerines, I swear!”
“It’s true,” Jungkook says, laughing at Taehyung’s pleading pout. “I watched him walk in.”
Yoongi raises his eyebrows, unconvinced. “Empty them.”
“Ah, hyung.” Taehyung sighs and starts pulling odd items from his pockets. “When are you gonna let that go?” A bit of yarn and four acorns. “It was so long ago and we’re all dating now!” A rusted thimble. “Shouldn’t we let bygones be bygones?” A gleaming, golden locket on a thin, delicate chain. “Don’t you love me?” Some sunflower seeds and a dried leaf that might have come from Namjoon’s branches. “I just wanted to see if you were warm enough, but— Oh!” Taehyung gasps, widening his eyes in pretend surprise. He pulls two tangerines out of his pockets with an almost guilty giggle. Almost. “Now, how did these get in here?”
“Tae!” Jungkook snorts. “When did you take those? I didn’t even see you do it!”
Taehyung wiggles his fingers in the air, winking. “Magic. But wait! I still have something else in my pocket. Wanna guess, Yoongi?”
“No.” Yoongi leans forward anyway. Taehyung grins and drops his hand into his pocket again. Yoongi’s always suspected there was some storage enhancing spell on them and the large bundle of fairysilk Taehyung pulls out proves him right.
“Jiminie made this for you, hyung,” Taehyung says. His eyes glitter gleefully and he unfurls the fabric, draping it over Yoongi and Jungkook. The difference is instant. Jungkook was warm before, but this blanket... Yoongi releases Jungkook’s shirt to run his hands over the softness. It heats at his touch and Yoongi shivers down to the tips of his scales, like shaking off winter’s cold, gray loneliness. The blanket feels like love.
Taehyung giggles. “I can tell you like it. Your eyes are glowing.”
Yoongi hums, pulling the blanket around his and Jungkook’s shoulders.
“It feels nice,” Jungkook says.
Yoongi nods, his wings unfurling from his back to accept the warmth. He hears Taehyung start to shuffle away and spins around with the fiercest glare he can muster. Taehyung freezes, his smile dropping. Yoongi pulls one side of the blanket open to Taehyung, beckoning him under.
“Really?” Taehyung gapes.
“Please,” Yoongi says, voice softening down to a whisper. “It’s cold and I want... I want you with me.” I want you safe.
Taehyung’s eyes water and he dives under Yoongi’s arm in a blink, nuzzling into Yoongi’s neck. Jungkook lifts his arm from Yoongi’s waist to hold Taehyung, too.
“This is nice,” Jungkook says.
Yoongi hums in agreement, letting their shared warmth fill his body and his heart.
“Hyung.” Taehyung whispers a while later. Yoongi has to blink the sleep from his eyes, grunting his response. “Hyung, do you love me?”
“Of course I do,” Yoongi says. He kisses Taehyung’s cheek and then Jungkook’s. The wolf just snores, too lost in sleep.
“That’s good,” Taehyung says sleepily. “I love you, too. I’ll tell Jiminie to make you a whole fairysilk outfit so you can come love the rest of us, too.”
“That would be great, Taehyung-ah.”
With dreams of leaving his cave and reuniting with his loves, Yoongi holds tight to Jungkook and Taehyung, their heartbeats aligned in warmth against the cold.