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“And I mean, if this is beginner-level magic then I really have no hope,” Namjoon laments, resting his head on the table. The cat at his side yawns, stretches and bumps his little forehead by Namjoon’s ear. “Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he says with a sigh, straightening back up. “I should just give it another try. The books were too expensive not to work, I can’t give up. Stupid, overpriced trash,” he murmurs, scratching behind the cat's ears and watching fondly as the animal leans closer to him until it winds up flopping on his side. “How do they expect aspiring witches to afford this?”
Namjoon stands up abruptly and starts pacing back and forth as he rants on and on. The cat watches with a yawn and an occasional meow, reminding Namjoon to pet him again. “Right? This is so dumb.”
Their routine is always something like this. Ever since Namjoon first opened his magic bookstore and library, a business his brother Seokjin had adamantly insisted couldn’t just stay as an unfulfilled dream, the white cat has been coming to visit on random days. It sits outside the door waiting for Namjoon to go downstairs in the morning with his slippers and his bed hair and unlock the door. Namjoon smiles every time the cat meows and slips past his legs straight to his favourite spot under one of the large front windows. The kitty stays curled up wherever the sun's rays warm the ground. Sometimes he stays around until it’s time to close, other times he leaves after Namjoon has petted him and given him a little snack.
Namjoon doesn’t mind, since he lives alone with only his books to keep him company it can sometimes get lonely. And maybe that’s why it’s so easy to talk to the silent feline listener about anything and everything that crosses his mind. Every complaint, every new delivery, everything he wonders about slips right out of his mouth. Of course, this also includes embarrassing things like everything he’s broken or lost in his clumsiness, as well as his silly little crush on the owner of the tea shop down the street.
Min Yoongi is more perceptive than most. From the first day Namjoon had stepped foot into his tea shop he’d given the witch a knowing smile and what he’d called a “magical discount”. Like the white cat, Yoongi is also a good listener. But unlike the cat, he can actually respond and offer advice. Yoongi doesn’t judge him and Namjoon is comfortable around him, comforted by the elder’s calmness.
Yoongi helps when Namjoon is frustrated and anxious. When he’s been trying to figure out a new spell for days and he just can’t seem to make it work. Yoongi helps on the long restless night Namjoon stays awake wondering if he’s a good witch at all and if learning new spells is even worth it. The doors to Yoongi’s tea shop are always open for Namjoon, a hot cup of tea is always ready, and Yoongi himself is always awake when he needs him.
“You’ll figure it out, Namjoon-ah,”
“I’m sure your books will get here on time,”
“Maybe you should try teaching, that’ll help you feel like you’re using your magic for a greater good.”
And so Namjoon practices, he waits patiently, and he starts taking three young aspiring witches under his wing. Watching over Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook’s messy attempts at magic helps keep his mind off of a gummy little smile and hair so blonde it’s almost white.
He likes Yoongi and that’s no secret, but the thought of asking his thing out makes him so nervous he stumbles over his words and laughs awkwardly instead. So for now he talks about his crush only with his meowing confidant, while he slowly builds up enough courage to tell Yoongi how he feels.
“He’s so cute,” Namjoon smiles while putting away from a large cardboard box a recent batch of donated books. The cat meows from where he’s sitting on the newly emptied shelf, and tilts its head to the side as if listening closely. “I swear, you should’ve seen him last night!” Namjoon continues, cheeks a little pink, as he magically sorts the books into alphabetical order. “His hair looked so fluffy and his cheeks were so pink and oh my god I was this close to kissing him,” he chuckles to himself with a slight shake of his head and slips a book into a gap. “I think I’m ready,” he says with a confident expression. “I’ll ask Yoongi out on a date tonight.”
The cat meows in startled surprise and falls off the shelf. Namjoon tries to catch it in the air and only ends up with scratches on his arm and empty hands. The cat runs away, fast and clumsily and slips out the ajar back door before Namjoon can even begin to wonder what might’ve spooked him.
The cat had knocked down some candles and a precariously placed stack of books on his way out the door, and Namjoon is in the middle of picking those things up when the front door swings open harshly. It slams against the wall and the bell on top of it jingles wildly. Namjoon jumps and curses a random spell that only works to turn his socks purple and drops everything he’d been holding.
“Namjoon!” It’s Yoongi who stands at the door, panting and frantic.
“Yoongi?” He asks with wide eyes, “shouldn’t you be at the shop?” He tries picking up some of the mess on the floor again, but the candles roll away from his hands and the books flop around the ground loudly, ripping at the corners of their own pages.
“I left Hobi in charge there. Namjoon,” Yoongi calls his name again and when Namjoon looks up this time Yoongi has stepped inside. He stands so close now that with how fast Namjoon straightens up their heads almost bump into each other. Namjoon uses every bit of magic he can focus on his hands to stop things from moving on the ground anymore. “I want to go on a date with you,” Yoongi says bluntly then takes a deep breath. “I really like you, and I wanted to be the one to ask you out.”
“You-? Wait, did you know I wanted to ask you out?” Namjoon asks, voice high-pitched and his whole face red.
“Ehh,” Yoongi hesitates to answer. “Yes,” he says finally. “Look, it’s a little hard to explain but I didn’t mean anything bad with it-“
“The cat told you,” Namjoon interrupts, his blush persisting.
Yoongi shakes his head. Then nods. Then shakes his head again.
“It’s not that simple.”
“Even as a witch I wouldn’t say that’s particularly simple. It’s so hard to learn to talk to animals, you should’ve told me! I’d love to learn and- hold on, how much has he told you?” Namjoon tenses up again and it only worsens when Yoongi stays quiet. “Oh, Merlin! I’m so embarrassed,” he laughs nervously, and the things on the floor rattle. “Well, I suppose you already know how I feel about you then… and if you’re still willing to go out with me I guess that’s a good sign. I want to learn just as much about you now,” he smiles, trying to see the bright side of the situation instead of running to hide under his covers like he wants to. Namjoon smiles and then bends down to try to pick up the mess again.
“I’m the cat,” Yoongi blurts out suddenly and the candle flies from Namjoon’s grip to crash into a bookcase and knock a couple more books to the floor. “Sorry! I’m sorry for just bursting in and dropping all of these things on you… and making you literally drop all of these other things. I didn’t mean for it to go on for so long. In the beginning, I just wasn’t sure of how to approach you and then… well, then I just liked it. The scratches, the pets, being so close to you. I just liked it too much but I wasn’t sure that you’d still do all of those to me, to human me I mean. I don’t know, I just let it go on for too long.”
Namjoon smiles, he gently kicks a book out of the way and steps closer to Yoongi. Closer until he can pull the younger man into a tight hug.
“I can still pet you,” he laughs lightly, affectionately running his fingers through Yoongi’s hair. Yoongi melts into the touch, Namjoon imagines he’d be pouring if he could do it as a human. “I want to go on that date,” he says and Yoongi nods, a gentle, barely perceptible movement. “But now that you’ve accepted this mess is your fault you gotta help me clean it up,” he laughs and Yoongi pulls away with a chuckle.
“Don’t you know a spell that could do that?”
“I do,” Namjoon nods with a conspiratorial smile. “But I still haven’t forgiven you for ripping holes in my curtains.”
“There was a little glare! I couldn’t help it!” Yoongi complains with a shake of his head but starts picking up the things on the floor regardless.
Namjoon ends up using the spell anyways.