Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jeongin is looking at the letter he got a few days ago from some of his wizard friends, Chan, Changbin, and Jisung. They’re working on starting up a school slash daycare to help toddlers and children who have just started to develop their magical powers and they’re inviting Jeongin to come look and even come work there if he wants. Jeongin thinks it’s a really good idea because there are so few resources for wizards and witches, so it can be dangerous for children when they don’t have any control over their magic if their parents don’t have time to help or knowledge about it. 

Jeongin was lucky enough that both of his parents are wizards, but Jeongin also knows a girl, Mayeon, whose parents were both human while she possessed magic so she never got the chance to control it well. She also happens to be the mother of Felix’s child and moved away to finally properly develop her magic, which is one of the reasons that Jeongin is hesitant to move away to help his wizard friends with their school. 

Felix, namely, is Jeongin’s best friend, they’ve been close since they were kids because they went to the same school, and Jeongin has been in love with him since more than half of the time they’ve known each other, but things are complicated. First of all, Felix has a kid— accidental, maybe, but still— Yumi, and she’s a handful, especially ever since Mayeon left. 

It was a hectic time because Felix and Mayeon weren’t even officially together and definitely not planning on having a child (Mayeon even never wanted to have or raise a child), and they only found out about her pregnancy when it was too late and too dangerous to abort. Felix was super sweet and responsible throughout the process, and when Mayeon got the opportunity to develop her magic (which had been her dream since she was young), he told her he’d take care of Yumi and she could let go of all of her responsibilities regarding her. 

It was a tough time, so Jeongin offered to help Felix whenever he can since he loves children (and he loves Felix), and while Felix is getting more and more independent with it and used to taking care of Yumi, Jeongin would feel awful to leave him and Yumi behind to travel far away and help the school (and that isn’t even considering his feelings for Felix). 

He sighs and puts away the letter, running a hand through his hair before he decides to go check on Felix and Yumi. He usually goes around town to help with errands and the like, but even if it’s winter, things have been slow, and magic is becoming less wanted with the development of new technology to help with things like proper heating in homes. Jeongin isn’t too attached to this town, but he is attached to Felix and to little Yumi, too, who has been growing and developing a lot. Her first birthday just passed a handful of weeks ago and Felix says she’s doing her best to learn how to walk. 

Jeongin knocks on the door, thinking it’s about time for Yumi to wake up from her nap, and he smiles brightly when Felix opens the door while carrying Yumi on his hip. Felix returns the smile tenfold, and Yumi shows a shy smile as well before they hug with the three of them. 

“Hi there, Yumi~” Jeongin coos as he pokes her chubby cheek, and her smile grows while Felix chuckles fondly. 

“Can you say hi back, Yumi? Hi, Jeongin~” Felix waves at Jeongin to show Yumi what he means, but she seems too shy (or tired) to do anything. “Okay, maybe next time. Come in, Innie, it’s cold outside.” 

“Thank you.” Jeongin takes off his coat and rubs his hands together to warm them up a little— it’s not cold enough yet for him to use magic to do so. “How is it going here? Did Yumi have a nice nap?”

Felix hums in confirmation, ruffling Yumi’s hair fondly as she hugs Felix tightly. “She was a little fussy, but she managed to nap for an hour or so, so she will probably be very playful in a few minutes. How was your day, Innie?”

Jeongin tells Felix about his uneventful day before Felix tells him how his day went and he puts Yumi down to encourage her to show Jeongin the progress she made with walking. Jeongin softens and feels warm as he watches Felix hold her little hands and Yumi wobbles on her legs as she takes a few small steps. Jeongin lights up and claps for her, and he holds his breath in anticipation when Felix slowly lets go of her hands so she can try on her own. She manages two steps before she falls over and Felix catches her with a laugh, kissing her cheek and complimenting her, and Jeongin can’t help but melt, even if he’s already used to seeing how Felix is with his daughter. 

“That was amazing Yumi! You’re already so strong!” Jeongin encourages, and she lets out a squeal before climbing on top of Felix’s lap, babbling something while tugging on his shirt.

“What is it, sweetie?” Felix asks her sweetly while caressing her head. “Do you wanna play? Play with the blocks?”

She lets out a sound that resembles ‘yes’ but isn’t quite there yet, so Jeongin gets her toys out and beckons her to come to the carpet so they can play. Yumi crawls over eagerly and sits down next to Jeongin as she grips the cube-shaped block and starts ramming it on the circle-shaped hole where she’s supposed to put the ball-shaped block.

Jeongin and Felix laugh delightedly, and Felix comments that she hasn’t figured shapes out just yet, but it’s fine as long as she’s having fun.

“Look, Yumi, if you put this round block in the round hole, it fits!” Jeongin shows her, and she looks at him with big round eyes for a moment before she, again, tries to put the cube in the round hole. Jeongin laughs. “No, that is a cube, Yumi! That goes in the square hole, here—”

Jeongin grabs the ball again and tries to hand it to Yumi and take the cube, but she whines, holding the block even more tightly with her little fingers, so Jeongin apologizes with a chuckle. He glances at Felix, who is simply watching with a fond look, seeming a bit tired. Felix is always tired near the end of the day, which Jeongin understands all too well. He is already tired if he spends an evening playing with Yumi, and Felix has to take care of her the rest of the day.

“Right— It’s almost time for her to eat something, do you want something too, Innie?” Felix asks as he stands up while Yumi has moved on to playing with letter blocks next.

Jeongin hums in thought and shakes his head. “Nah, I had a snack before coming here, and we’ll make some dinner together in a bit, right?”

“Yep. Okay, then I’ll just head to the bathroom and then make Yumi’s dinner.” Felix turns around, and Yumi perks up when she sees Felix walking away, so Jeongin assures her that her dad is simply going to the bathroom and making some food for her, and he distracts her with the letter blocks, which she immediately snatches out of Jeongin’s hands.

She starts throwing them on the carpet, squealing when they bounce a little, and Jeongin watches fondly, ready to intervene if she threatens to hurt herself. Instead of hurting herself, however, she throws one at Jeongin, and Jeongin gasps with a laugh.

“Ow! Yumi that hurts!” he tells her, but she only giggles and does it again. “Yumi… no. It’s bad to hurt people!”

When she does it again, Jeongin grabs the block and holds it out of her reach. “Yumi, don’t throw blocks at people, okay? That hurts.”

She whines again and continues trying to grab the block, but Jeongin gives her a pointed look. She simply ignores him and keeps grabbing, waving her arms around and making sounds until she suddenly swings her little arm and the block is ripped from Jeongin’s grip.

Jeongin gasps and his eyes widen in disbelief— magic? There was certainly something pulling that block out of Jeongin’s grip and he thinks he even felt the magic, but he isn’t completely sure. Felix and he both thought Yumi wouldn’t be a witch because Felix isn’t one and Mayeon’s parents both weren’t either, but maybe they were wrong— or maybe Jeongin hallucinated what just happened.

“Yumi… What did you just do?” Jeongin asks her, but Yumi is already distracted by trying (and failing) to put the letter blocks back into their designated spots. Jeongin grabs a few letters and holds them above her head. “Come, try to grab them!”

Yumi seems a little confused, but she starts trying to get a hold of the letters when Jeongin holds them just in her reach before moving away again. It takes a minute before Jeongin feels it again, and some of the letters fly around in a way that is definitely not Jeongin’s doing and also not possible according to the human laws of physics. 

“I’m back and I have some dinner for a special someone~” Felix announces just as Yumi swings her arm again and launches a letter into Jeongin’s face, making Jeongin wince and Felix gasp. “Yumi! Don’t throw letters at Jeongin!” 

Felix runs over to put the small bowl of mashed food and the bottle of milk on the ground out of Yumi’s reach and lifts her on top of his lap before inspecting Jeongin’s face with a worried frown. Jeongin blushes as Felix’s fingers brush over the red skin of his forehead where the letter hit him. 

“Are you okay?” Felix asks softly, and Jeongin nods, their proximity making him feel warm. 

“Yeah, I— Uhm… Yumi didn’t throw it at me, or well— she did, but not with her hands,” Jeongin explains, and Felix frowns in confusion, pulling back a little. Jeongin wants to continue explaining, but then the letters on the ground suddenly shift around, moving over the floor as Yumi waves her hands around. 

Felix takes in a breath and looks between the floor and his daughter. “Wait— Is Yumi doing that? Is— Is it magic?”

“Yes. It seems like Yumi is a witch after all,” Jeongin confirms slowly, and Felix pales. “I think she can only do telekinesis for now— and only on light objects, so not furniture or anything, but… this will probably complicate some things.”

“It certainly will!” Felix exclaims, and Yumi squeaks in worry, so Felix softly apologizes before he looks up to Jeongin with a concerned expression and lowers his voice. “I–I don’t know much about magic, Innie. I know I’m best friends with a wizard, but— she’s a baby! I can teach her to walk or to talk or to distinguish shapes and colors but I can’t teach her magic!” 

“I can help, Lixie— I will help. I promised you, right?” Jeongin assures, placing his hand on Felix’s, and his friend softens, but he still looks troubled. “I don’t think it’ll be much of a problem just yet aside from some toys flying around, but either way I’ll help and we’ll figure out what to do, yeah?” 

Felix sighs and hugs Yumi closer protectively. “You’re right. Thank you as always, Innie.” 

"Any time," Jeongin whispers. You know I'd do anything for you, he finishes in his mind, but before he can even contemplate saying it out loud, Yumi starts whining, reaching out to the little bowl of food on the ground. 

Felix gasps and quickly grabs it before Yumi accidentally uses magic again. "Sorry sweetie, you'll get your dinner now." 

Jeongin watches as Felix gently feeds his daughter without too much trouble, and Jeongin takes that moment to think about possible ways to help, which is when he remembers the letter he was looking at before coming here. 

He takes in a breath at the realization, but then he hesitates. His friends, Changbin, Chan, and Jisung, offer a place to stay if Jeongin were to come there, but they'd have to stay there for a long time if not move there, and it's not a short trip there either, so who knows how Yumi would take it.

"What is it, Innie?" Felix asks as he gives Yumi another spoon of food. "It sounded like you wanted to say something." 

Jeongin exhales and smiles, thinking that Felix knows him so well — they're best friends after all. "You know that letter I got from my wizard friends? I thought… maybe we could help Yumi there, but it'd be a long trip, especially in this cold, so I don't know." 

Felix purses his lips in thought, feeding his daughter a last bite of food. "It'd be nice to have a place for her to develop her magic— not that I'd think you'd be a bad teacher on your own— because it'd both give us some more freedom and give her a safe and fun environment to learn how to deal with her magic before she has a human school to attend."

Jeongin hums. "Yeah, I had two parents who could teach me, but I remember that things were tough for Mayeon and her parents because they had no way for her to properly learn how to control her magic." 

"I do agree that the trip in winter could be bad for Yumi, so I want to think about it for a little more, but I do like the idea," Felix mutters, playing with Yumi's hands. "Especially because you'd like to work there, right? And the only reason you haven't gone yet is because of Yumi and I." 

Jeongin blushes and nods. He only told Felix that he was still thinking about the offer and that he was happy here with Felix and Yumi, but obviously Felix connected the dots. 

“Well, as I said, I like it here with you and Yumi, so just do what you want, I’ll follow whatever you decide,” he tells his friend, who softens and his expression makes Jeongin’s heart skip a beat. 

“Innie… You’re so sweet,” he whispers with a sweet smile. “I want to say you don’t have to stay with me just because you promised to help me take care of Yumi, but… I kind of need you now that Yumi has magic, and you already told me that you don’t feel obligated, right?” 

Jeongin chuckles and nods. “Yeah, that’s right—” 

“Ada,” Yumi interrupts— her way of getting Felix’s attention. She points to her toys, squirming to get out of Felix’s grip. “Os.” 

“You want to play with your toys? Okay, sweetie, go ahead.” Felix lets her go before he stands up and dusts off his pants. “I’ll make some dinner for the two of us, then. Can you keep an eye on her? Normally I’d trust her to be alone for a bit, but with her newly discovered magic…”

“You sure you don’t want me to make dinner?” Jeongin asks to be sure. He may be a worse cook than Felix, but he can make a decent meal by now, being used to helping Felix with Yumi in the evenings, and he wants to give Felix the option to rest. 

“No, uhm… I think you’d handle it better if something happens,” Felix answers, shaking his head before heading to the kitchen without letting Jeongin say another word. He frowns a little, finding it odd that Felix thinks he’d handle things better. Yes, Jeongin is a wizard, yes, he loves kids and he loves Yumi, but she’s Felix’s daughter, and while she’s pretty affectionate and social already, Jeongin knows that she trusts Felix more than him. 

Either way, Jeongin understands Felix’s shock and hesitance, so he’ll do his best to entertain Yumi and maybe even get her to learn a smidge of magic. She’s playing with her stuffed animals now, already using a little magic, but it’s dispersed and weak so it doesn’t do much yet, so Jeongin joins her and gets her attention. 

“Yumi,” he calls, and she looks up with her big eyes in curiosity. “Did you already notice you’re developing magic? You threw the blocks around earlier, remember? I can use magic too, look!” 

Jeongin points his hand at the little kitten plushie and makes it float. Yumi squeals and crawls over to it to grab it, but Jeongin stops her and lifts her up to sit next to him. “No, no. You can do it from a distance. Look, copy me.” 

He slowly stretches out his arm and uses his magic to make the plushie float again. Yumi just watches with wide eyes before she starts bouncing and flailing her arms around in delight. Jeongin chuckles, finding it endearing until the plushies start flying around too. 

“Watch out!” he warns with a laugh when she almost knocks something over with the plushies. “Here, let me help you.”

He gently holds Yumi’s little arm, but she resists with a whine, so he lets her go and do her thing, which is crawling around the room and trying to walk while holding onto furniture. Jeongin guesses that’s a good and safe way to wait for dinner, too, so he just relaxes and watches her in case something happens. 

Soon enough, Felix comes out with dinner, and he seems relieved to hear that nothing bad happened. He softly praises Yumi and ruffles her hair before putting her on his lap, telling her to stay still for a bit as they eat. She’s getting more and more tired as it’s getting closer to her bedtime (which is after dinner), so Jeongin hopes that they can have a peaceful dinner. 

They eat in comfortable silence, Felix being too tired to speak, and Jeongin doesn’t mind just enjoying the moment with the three of them. He really didn’t lie when he told Felix he will simply follow him where he goes. Not only because he’s in love with him, but also because he’s comfortable with Felix (and Yumi), and it reminds him of when he did that spell to see whether he and Felix have a soulmate bond. 

The spell was kind of inconclusive and vague, showing a hint to him and Felix being soulmates, but something was missing, so Jeongin didn’t understand and just let it go. Sometimes he still wonders, but on the other hand he doesn’t really care whether they’re soulmates or not, because he knows he loves Felix regardless of it. The only thing it might do is give Jeongin some courage to finally state his feelings, but that’ll come later, not when Felix is stressed about finding out that his daughter is a witch despite what they thought—

Suddenly, Felix’s knife slides off the table– right towards where Yumi is sitting. Jeongin yells simultaneously with Felix, his reflexes working before his brain does, and he quickly swings his hand to let the knife fly elsewhere. It hits Felix before clattering on the ground as Felix groans in pain and Yumi is letting out distressed cries at the sight of her father in pain and the loud sounds. 

“Shit! Lixie—” Jeongin stands up immediately, his heart is hammering in his chest at the shock, but he tries his best to soothe Yumi as he comes to check on both of them. “Are you okay?” he asks, caressing Yumi’s arm as she hugs Felix tightly, burying her face in Felix’s chest, and he inspects Felix’s face and brushes his fingers over the red spot on his cheek joined by his freckles. 

“I– Yeah— It hurts, but I’m just glad that Yumi is okay,” he mutters, grabbing Yumi and lifting her up to hug her properly and rub her back soothingly, and Jeongin pulls back, giving them the room to hug. “Shh, sweetie. I’m okay. It’s okay.” 

Yumi calms down a bit, but Jeongin can tell that Felix is still shocked, holding his daughter protectively. Jeongin leaves them be for a bit, letting the two of them ease each other as he cleans up for them, but when he grabs the knife off the floor, Felix almost looks scared to see the piece of cutlery. 

“Can– Can you bring that to the kitchen?” he requests softly, and Jeongin already understands what he means, so he grabs his own knife too and takes them away. They’re not that sharp, but Jeongin wouldn’t want to take the risk around Yumi either. 

When he returns, the atmosphere feels heavy, and Felix doesn’t seem to have touched the rest of his dinner, simply hugging Yumi and rocking her a little, but probably mostly for himself, because Yumi looks to be nodding off in Felix’s arms. Jeongin keeps quiet as he sits down across from Felix again and slowly continues eating, hoping Felix will follow him, but when he doesn’t, Jeongin lays down his cutlery again. 

“You should eat, Lixie. It’s getting colder so food is important,” he whispers, and Felix sighs softly. 

“I know… I’ll eat in a bit,” he replies absentmindedly. Jeongin just lets him be, not wanting to disturb him nor Yumi, even if he’s worried and wants to ease Felix’s mind somehow. 

He doesn’t really know fully how to handle babies with developing magic, though, he knows a bit about how to help kids, but Yumi probably needs a bit more than what Jeongin remembers from his parents’ stories and extrapolation of what he knows about kids. 

Jeongin finishes his dinner before Felix has moved an inch, and Jeongin is sure that Yumi is asleep by now, but they both don’t seem to want to let go of the other. 

“Lixie, I think she’ll be okay for the night—” Jeongin begins, but Felix immediately cuts in.

“I want to go to that school. The one you got the letter about— It’s for witches of her age, too, right?” he asks with serious eyes, and Jeongin nods slowly. 

“Yes— They’re still mostly working with volunteers now, but they all have the resources and people to help kids and babies of a range of ages,” he answers in a low tone, careful not to wake Yumi. “But… Are you sure?” 

Felix nods determinedly. “Yeah. I— I know nothing went wrong now, but… I can’t help but overthink. I don’t want this to happen again, and I don’t want you or me to have to keep an eye on her every single minute of the day, but most of all I don’t want her to hurt herself.” 

“I get that,” Jeongin whispers, nodding. “We’ll make it work, then. But for now… let’s take Yumi to bed and then you can finish your dinner? Or the other way around?” 

Felix hums and slowly continues his dinner while Jeongin tells him he’ll start on the dishes in the meantime. It’s a weird evening for both of them, Jeongin came here thinking it’d just be like any other evening he spends with Felix and Yumi, but instead, Yumi’s magic awakened and suddenly Felix has decided he wants to travel halfway across the country to get help for her.

Jeongin is more than ready to go with him (and not only because it might give him the opportunity to work with his friends and do a job he loves, even if it’s for only a while), but he knows that it won’t be easy, and he’s nervous because he doesn’t know what to expect. He’ll try to take it step by step, though, and he’ll try to be there for Felix and Yumi as much as he can. 

They tuck Yumi into bed together — she’s still sleeping in the same room as Felix which will probably ease him — but when Jeongin wants to stand up to leave the room, Felix stops him. 

“Can we stay for a bit longer here? I– I just want to make sure she’ll be okay,” he requests softly, so Jeongin relents and sits back down on the carpet, swinging an arm around his best friend. 

“Of course,” he answers, and Felix lays his head on Jeongin’s shoulder. “If it helps, my parents said I never used magic when I was asleep, but we can stay as long as you want.” 

“Thank you, Innie, that helps,” Felix whispers, huddling closer to Jeongin, and it makes Jeongin feel warm on this cold day. “Thank you for being there for me— I know you’re always there for me, but especially today I’m grateful to have you.” 

Jeongin blushes and his heart makes a fuss about Felix’s sweet words. His friend has always been straight forward with his affection, but that doesn’t mean Jeongin won’t feel like his heart won’t burst with love every other time. So, he just hugs Felix close and hums, not knowing how to react otherwise. Felix melts in his arms and they stay like that, watching Yumi sleep in a comfortable silence. 

“Would it be too much to ask you to stay over for the night?” Felix asks after a while, and if Jeongin is honest with himself, he doesn’t feel like going home in the cold nor leaving Felix’s warm embrace. And besides, he’s stayed over plenty of times here, it’s nothing new.

“Nah, it wouldn’t. I kind of feel like staying over, too,” Jeongin answers, and Felix smiles happily. “Despite not doing much, I’m pretty tired.”

“Me too,” Felix sighs deeply. “Though I did do a lot. And I’d argue that you did a lot for me and Yumi, too.”

“Maybe.” Jeongin shrugs, and Felix pouts at him, making Jeongin chuckle. “Let’s keep tonight relaxed and start thinking of a plan to get to my friends tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I hope I can keep the worries at bay a little,” Felix mutters, and Jeongin caresses his back. 

“Do you want me to do a sleeping spell?” he offers, and Felix thinks about it for a moment before he nods. 

“Yes, we’ll have to clean up the living room and wash up first, but I think it’d be nice to have a good sleep tonight,” he answers before stopping himself in a realization. “Wait— but what if something happens and I need to wake up in the middle of the night?—”

“Lixie, relax,” Jeongin urges, grabbing his friends’ shoulders. “I won’t do a heavy spell, and I’ll be there too. Don’t worry, okay?” 

Felix finally relents and they finally leave the room to slowly get ready for bed. It’s early, but Jeongin doesn’t mind, and he thinks they both definitely need some sleep. Jeongin doesn’t think he’ll use a spell on himself, though, he can sleep well enough knowing that nothing ever went wrong for him at night when he just developed his magic and that Felix will sleep peacefully with the spell. 

Felix huddles close when they get into bed together (Felix had long convinced Jeongin to just sleep in the same bed whenever they sleep over at each other’s place), and Felix’s smile as he swings his arm over Jeongin’s body never fails to make him feel giddy. 

“Good night, Jeonginnie. You can do the spell now before I start overthinking,” he whispers, and Jeongin can’t hold back a smile.

“Good night, Lixie,” he replies before casting the spell and seeing Felix’s eyes close and his body relax. Jeongin takes another while to fall asleep too, but when he does, he falls into a deep, well needed sleep. 

“Do we have everything? We brought extra diapers, right?” Felix double checks everything, opening the bag specifically for Yumi, who is dressed up in a big, warm coat, making her look even smaller than she is. “We did, okay. Then that’s all, I think.” 

“If we end up forgetting something after all, we could always buy something somewhere,” Jeongin says. He’s lucky he’s a wizard, so he can always offer some kind of magic in return if they happen to run low on money, but they should be good for now. What’s also lucky is that most witches and wizards are open to housing other traveling witches and wizards, so if they come across them, they won’t have to pay for an inn or anything like that except for the first night that they already booked, which would be nice. 

Either way, Jeongin is nervous but excited to go on this journey with his best friend and his daughter. It has been a hectic two weeks of preparations and planning, with Yumi starting to both grow a little stronger with her magic and also in her body, being able to walk and talk more and more, but they’re finally ready to go, the only downside being that it’s getting colder and colder.  

Felix carries his daughter and her bag while Jeongin carries the other bags (using a bit of magic to make them less heavy, and he plans on making them levitate if they get too heavy) as they head to the train station. Trains are a relatively new development that humans made (only witches were able to travel large distances quickly before, but only alone, and it’d take a big amount of magical energy) and it’s a great help for their trip, otherwise it’d probably take months to get to where they need to go while now they’re aiming for a week of traveling. 

Yumi is positively in awe when they get to the train station and the big steam train arrives, and Felix’s previously concerned frown melts away and makes way for a smile directed at his daughter, who is pointing at the train intently. Jeongin chuckles at the way you can barely see her little finger with the big sleeve engulfing her arm.

“Yes! That’s a train!” Felix tells her, pointing at it as well. “A train!” 

“Den!” Yumi exclaims, making Jeongin and Felix laugh. 

“Almost there, good job Yumi!” Jeongin tells her with a ruffle to her hair. 

It’s pretty busy at the station, but Yumi fortunately doesn’t seem to mind as they board the train, and Jeongin sighs in relief to be able to stow the bags somewhere and not have to carry them or use his magic anymore for a bit. 

Yumi is full of energy the first hour of the ride, wanting to walk around, explore, and play (and scream her lungs out, but she quiets down after Felix asks her enough times). There is not much around that her magic can work on yet, so the only thing flying around is her favorite kitten plushie, but she still manages to throw it all the way over to other passengers, who are a bit confused but luckily not angry. She just ignores everyone and grabs her plushie again before shakily waddling back to Jeongin while Felix softly apologizes to the other passengers. Yumi falls down twice on the way, but she has her plushie to soften the fall, and she’s not tall enough to have a hard fall on the carpet, fortunately, and Felix soon picks her up to help her the last bit there. 

“It seems she doesn’t mind traveling until now,” Jeongin comments, and Felix agrees with a chuckle. 

“Definitely not, I think she has her adventurousness from both me and Mayeon,” he says, and Jeongin hums, his stomach churning a little at the mention of Mayeon. He knows that her and Felix were only a hookup and things didn’t work out romantically, but Jeongin can’t help but feel a little jealous. They sent her a letter updating her about Yumi and she promised to stop by if she could, and Jeongin is happy about it, but deep down he’s somehow scared that he will never be enough for Felix and Yumi, even if Mayeon never wanted a child while Felix did and Jeongin has been there for the two of them more than Mayeon has ever been. It all doesn’t mean that he deserves Felix’s romantic love. 

He sometimes wonders how Yumi sees him, too. If she feels like Jeongin is simply some guy who plays with her sometimes, or if she (unconsciously) sees him as a caregiver and someone she trusts, too. He hopes that whatever it is, she at least likes him half as much as Jeongin has grown attached to her, and while he tries not to think about the possibility of Felix eventually falling in love with someone who he wants to take care of Yumi with together, he can’t help but fear that day as he so selfishly wants to stay one of Felix and Yumi’s favorite people. 

“What are you thinking about, Innie?” Felix asks softly. Yumi has become tired in the meantime, hugging Felix and her plushie tightly as she rests. It’ll soon be time to give her some food, Jeongin thinks before he realizes that he should answer.

“Uhm— I was just thinking about you and Yumi, and I was wondering how Yumi would see me,” Jeongin admits. He’s never been a good liar, and he hates lying anyway, so he just tells most of the truth and keeps whatever he can about his feelings to himself. “You know, because I’m around so often, but… I’m not you, either.”

“Hmm. I wonder, too. I know she loves playing with you and I do talk about you a lot, but let’s ask her,” Felix answers with a chuckle, and Jeongin blushes a little at the fact that Felix talks about him to Yumi. “Yumi, what do you think of Jeongin? Do you like Jeonginnie?” 

Yumi tilts her head in confusion before Felix repeats the question and she squeals out some unintelligible answer. Jeongin huffs, softening, he didn’t expect Yumi to give a proper answer, so he’s fine with this— at least it’s not a hard no, but Jeongin already knew that because she likes playing with him and she lets Jeongin carry her and help her with little things sometimes. 

“Do you like Felix, Yumi?” Jeongin then asks her, and she perks up. “Do you love your dada?”

She screams something that Jeongin still can’t decipher, but her answer is obvious in the way she hugs her dad and buries her head in his chest. “Ada!”

“Well, that was clear,” Jeongin comments with a smile, and Felix grins happily. 

“I love you too, sweetie.” He lifts her and kisses her full cheek before offering his own. “Do you wanna give dada a kiss too? Mwah mwah?”

Felix puckers his lips and Yumi presses her face against Felix’s cheek, making them laugh. Of course one of the first things Yumi has learned is giving people (sort of) kisses, like father like daughter, it seems. 

“And will you give Jeonginnie a kiss, too?” Felix asks next, and Jeongin chuckles as he leans over to offer his cheek, but Yumi seems to be a bit too shy still. “Okay, next time, maybe.” 

After that it’s about time to feed Yumi, and they all relax for a little bit before Yumi will most likely become energetic after having eaten again. Jeongin is watching the landscape pass by with Felix and Yumi’s sounds as background noise until something catches his eye and he gasps. 

“Lixie, Yumi, look! It’s snowing!” Jeongin points outside, and both Yumi and Felix whip their heads around to see for themselves. Jeongin chuckles as they press themselves against the window as Felix points out and explains to his daughter what is happening, and she tries to grab the snowflakes with her little hands as they hit the glass. 

“Ohw!” she exclaims delightedly when Felix has repeated the word snow a few times. 

“We have to go out and play in the snow when we arrive!” Felix says with the brightest smile, and Jeongin agrees. It’ll be special for Yumi, this being her first time to see and experience snow. They will arrive at their destination somewhere in the evening, but if Yumi naps for long enough it might be okay if she goes to bed a little later (hopefully she’ll be able to sleep in an unfamiliar place). 

It keeps snowing as they kill time by playing, reading, and drawing either together with Yumi or separately when she’s asleep. Felix seems to be slowly dozing off too, which Jeongin fully understands seeing how busy especially Felix has been the past few days, but Jeongin wishes he was sitting next to him to offer his shoulder for Felix to sleep on. He feels awkward offering it, though, not wanting to disturb both Felix and Yumi in their (almost) sleep. 

It’s a peaceful sight, nonetheless, and Jeongin finds himself grabbing his sketchbook to try to eternalize this moment for them. He wonders if there could be a magic spell for that, but he has no idea, so he’ll just do it the human way and try to draw them. He doesn’t think he’s the best artist out there, but he likes drawing, so he’ll give it a shot. 

He always gets immersed in drawing, so before he knows it, Yumi already wakes up, making little whiny sounds. Jeongin softly shushes her, putting away his sketchbook to tell her that Felix is still sleeping, but she keeps letting out cries, and Jeongin realizes that she probably needs her diaper changed. He hesitates because diaper changes are his least favorite chore to do, but he doesn’t want to wake Felix up, so he lifts Yumi onto his own lap, scrunching his nose when he smells her dirty diaper, and scours through Yumi’s bag for the clean diapers. 

“C’mere Yumi sweetie, let’s get you a clean diaper yeah?” he whispers, trying to soothe her a little, but it doesn’t do much, so he just gets her to a changing room as soon as he can. He gags a little at the smell when he undresses Yumi and takes off the diaper, but he soon gets used to it enough to survive. Yumi still doesn’t like whatever is happening, however, kicking her feet and crying even when Jeongin cleans her with some wipes. 

“Yumi, it’s okay, shh~” Jeongin tries. “You’ll get a new diaper soon. I know this place is unfamiliar and I’m not Felix but it’ll be okay— Ow! ” 

He hisses and pulls back his hands when Yumi’s skin suddenly turns scorchingly hot and the packet of wipes flies around the room, and he realizes that this is her using magic again. Jeongin internally curses, but he’s glad that Felix doesn’t have to deal with this, because when he gets close to Yumi, who’s still crying, he can sense that she’s still scorching hot, and he has to use magic on himself to get her cleaned and change the diaper properly. 

“This might be a little cold, sorry,” Jeongin warns softly after doing a temperature resistant spell on his hands and gently grabbing her legs to continue cleaning her thoroughly. She still whines and protests a little, but she starts calming down when Jeongin gets the diapers she threw around with her magic and gets a clean one on while whispering soothing words. 

She starts protesting again when Jeongin tries to put her clothes back on, and Jeongin gets a little desperate to soothe her, afraid she’ll use magic again, but Jeongin doesn’t want to use magic on her without her consent and he can’t get that like this.

He gets the clothes on messily but it’s good enough, so he just lifts her up and rocks her in his arms, rubbing her back as he tries to gather all of their stuff with his free hand so they can go back to Felix. “Shh~ It’s okay, we’re done now, Yumi. It’s okay.” 

When talking to her doesn’t really work, he just starts humming something in hopes of distracting her from whatever is upsetting her, and that makes her stop for a moment, looking up at Jeongin with big, watery eyes, spurring Jeongin on to keep singing, dancing with her in his arms. 

When they come back to their seats, Felix seems to slowly be waking up, perhaps because of the sound of Yumi sniffling, perhaps because of Jeongin’s singing, maybe just naturally, but what is clear is that he looks incredibly cute as he blinks his eyes open. 

When Yumi sees him she immediately reaches out her arms and exclaims ‘ada’, so Jeongin puts her back on Felix’s lap, and it does wonders for calming her down. It stings a little, but Jeongin can’t blame her for being attached to Felix, he just hopes he can one day be a comforting person to her as well– though maybe that’s just wishful thinking. 

“Hmm? Hi sweetie,” Felix greets his daughter with a sleepy, deep voice, and gosh it’s attractive. “Where did you two go? Was everything okay?” 

“Yeah, she just woke up with a dirty diaper so I changed it because I didn’t want to wake you up,” Jeongin explains, and Felix hums, softening. “She was a bit fussy and used her magic in protest, but no one got hurt and I eventually managed. She seems to be happy to be back with you now.” 

Felix chuckles and kisses the side of Yumi’s head as they hug. “Thank you, Jeonginnie, that’s really sweet of you. I hope she didn’t give you too much of a hard time— I know how much you dislike changing diapers ever since Yumi peed on you, so it would’ve been fine if you woke me up.”
Jeongin laughs and scratches his neck sheepishly. “I know— I just thought I’d try again, trusting Yumi to not pee on me. Instead she almost burned me, but that was better than the pee.” 

Felix snorts before he frowns. “Wait— She almost burned you? With magic?—” 

“Yes, well— I don’t think she actually could’ve burned me, but her skin became very hot because she was being fussy, so I had to do a spell for myself so I could touch her comfortably,” Jeongin clarifies hastily before Felix panics. “I don’t think she would’ve done that if you were with her, though, so maybe it was just her way of telling me to go away.”

“Oh gosh…” Felix sighs, looking down and running a hand through his hair before he faces Jeongin again. “I don’t think she wanted you away, though. She always gets super sensitive and fussy when she needs a diaper change, and even more so when she just wakes up, even with me, so I think it was more her saying that she wanted to be comfortable and clean again.” 

Jeongin hums, thinking it makes sense, so Felix probably doesn’t say it just to be nice, which makes Jeongin feel a bit relieved. Still, it’s a fact that Yumi feels more comfortable with Felix, so she might not have burned him like she did with Jeongin. Jeongin sighs and tries to shake the feeling away and tries to be happy that he can simply be there for Felix. 

The train ride isn't much longer, so Felix feeds Yumi once more before they clean up and get their bags and themselves ready to go. Yumi looks absolutely adorable again, engulfed in her puffy jacket and hat and gloves, but Jeongin can't admire it for too long because he's in charge of carrying the bags. 

They all gasp when they leave the train and set foot in the snow covered town — they have never traveled much outside their hometown except for the times Jeongin traveled with his parents, but it's another thing to see an unfamiliar town covered in freshly fallen snow. Felix and Jeongin share a look, wordlessly agreeing to put their bags in the inn so they can play in the snow as soon as possible. 

They all share a single room in the inn because it's cheap and they're comfortable with each other, having shared a bed plenty of times, so they quickly dump the bags there before taking an awestruck Yumi outside. She's probably overwhelmed by all the new surroundings, but when Felix puts her down in the snow outside the inn, she happily waddles a few steps while shrieking before she falls over and lands in the soft, cold snow. 

"Oh sweetie, that's cold isn’t it?" Felix asks as he puts her on her feet and fondly wipes the snow off her full, rosy cheeks and she blows a raspberry at him, melting Jeongin's heart. "Shall we make a snowman? Look!" 

Felix grabs some snow and makes it into a ball before rolling it on the ground. Yumi looks at him with big eyes before she falls down on her knees and starts grabbing the snow with her little hands and pushing and throwing it around while yelling, making Jeongin and Felix laugh. 

"That is also a way to do it," Jeongin comments before he crouches next to her. "Look, Yumi, you can also use magic!" 

He demonstrates it by slowly levitating some snow and shaping it into a ball. When Yumi simply stares at it without trying it herself, Jeongin gets a sneaky idea and throws the ball at Felix, who is working on the snowman while occasionally glancing at them. 

"Hey!" Felix gasps when it hits his back and Jeongin and Yumi laugh. "You two rascals!" 

Felix makes a snowball and throws it right into Jeongin's face, making him sputter, and Yumi squeaks in delight before she starts to try to throw snow around as well. At first she does it manually and her hands are too small to get anything done, but then her magic joins in and she can throw larger amounts of snow (though just barely a proper snowball amount). 

It’s a lot of fun and also a good practice for Yumi's magic control, and the snowman is forgotten in favor of having a snowball fight. It's two against one because Yumi of course helps her father, but Jeongin has his magic as an advantage. 

"Look behind you!" Jeongin exclaims, and sweet Felix falls for it, so Jeongin throws the snowball that was levitating behind Felix right into his face. "Payback!" 

"Yang Jeongin!" Felix yells and starts chasing a laughing Jeongin while Yumi tries to keep up, still throwing snow around vaguely aimed at Jeongin and falling into the snow at every two steps. 

Eventually Jeongin, being clumsy, trips over his own feet just as Felix catches him, and they fall into the snow together with Felix's arms slung around him. Jeongin blushes bright red when he sees Felix just a few centimeters away on top of him, but he can blame it on the cold if anyone asks. His heart is going wild as Felix grins at him victoriously, his freckles glowing on his flushed cheeks, and Jeongin already knows that he'll be thinking about this moment a lot later. 

"Gotcha," Felix whispers, his breath forming clouds between them and hitting Jeongin's skin, and Jeongin is positively entranced, wondering what Felix's plan is. 

"You— You know that I can still use magic despite you having restricted my arms, right?" Jeongin tries, ignoring his desire to kiss Felix, and Felix laughs. 

"I do, but can you still do so when I do this?" He promptly starts tickling Jeongin, who shrieks and starts fighting back. 

"Ack! Lixie— mercy please! I— I surrender!" he squeaks between airy laughs, but Felix keeps going, enjoying it way too much to see Jeongin squirming for his life. "Ah— Lixie please! You win the snowball battle—" 

Just at that moment, Yumi comes into Jeongin's view and pushes her small snow covered hands into Jeongin's face after which more snow follows, probably with her magic, and Felix cackles loudly as Jeongin sputters again. 

"Nice job, Yumi! Ah— that's enough, sweetheart, we already won," Felix chuckles and lifts her up as he gets off Jeongin before he offers one hand to help him up, showing him a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Innie, did we go too far?" 

"No you didn't, I am happy it was this fun for you two to obliterate me," he answers and Felix laughs again. Jeongin loves it when he can make him laugh, and his heart skips a beat when Felix leans in to get some snow out of his hair. 

"I'm glad," Felix mutters, a fond glimmer in his eyes that has Jeongin falling into the depths of his irises. "Let's go inside now, it's starting to get cold and it's almost Yumi's bedtime." 

In their room they get rid of their damp coats and hats and cozy up in warm sweaters after having dinner and changing Yumi into her pajamas and cleaning her up too. And only when Jeongin is taking a bath, it hits him that they're actually on their way to his wizard friends, and it still feels a bit unreal, but less than before. It seems like Yumi is realizing it too, because when Jeongin emerges from the bathroom she's still restless, while Felix has been trying to get her to sleep since before Jeongin took a bath. 

"She used up plenty of energy today, especially in the snow, but it seems like the unfamiliar surroundings are bothering her," Felix says as he rocks his whining daughter in his arms. "I don't know what to do." 

Jeongin wants to offer to take over and let Felix have a bath, but that doesn't seem like a good idea if Yumi needs something familiar right now (which Felix is way more than Jeongin), so he hums in thought before he comes with an idea, but he's not sure if it'll help. "Would distracting her be good?" 

Felix shrugs and says it's worth a try, so Jeongin comes to sit next to them on the bed and Felix turns Yumi to him. At first she doesn't even want to look, but Jeongin knows how to get her attention. 

"Look, Yumi, fireworks!" Jeongin whispers as he creates tiny colorful sparks above them, first real sparks to get that popping sound, and he plans to switch to an illusion once she looks. It does the trick of gathering her attention as always, and her whines slowly stop as she looks up in awe. Jeongin creates different shapes and he even seems to have Felix in awe despite him having seen this trick plenty of times. 

Now that Yumi's attention is away from her surroundings, Jeongin thinks she could fall asleep soon enough, so he starts singing a lullaby, adapting his illusionary sparkles to represent what he's singing as if it’s a bedtime story, and while it takes five songs for Yumi to finally doze off, Jeongin is relieved that this worked. He shares a look with Felix when Yumi seems to be in dreamland, and Felix smiles gratefully. 

"You're a lifesaver, Jeonginnie. Thank you," he whispers, and Jeongin smiles bashfully. 

"No problem. Do you want to take a bath now?" he asks, and Felix purses his lips. 

"Yes, in a bit, when she's really sleeping deeply," he replies, gently caressing Yumi. Jeongin hums and nods. Otherwise she might wake up when Felix gives her to me to hold and she won't like waking up in my arms— Jeongin stops his thoughts there, he shouldn't think like that if he isn't sure about it and when it's simply because Yumi needs to get used to the new surroundings and not because she hates him. Tomorrow they'll be continuing their trip and they won't be staying anywhere more than one night unless something happens, however, so he wonders if Yumi will be like this every night or not. 

Fortunately, Yumi stays asleep in Jeongin's arms as well when Felix puts her there after a few minutes, and Felix can take his time relaxing in the bath as he deserves. Hopefully once Yumi can get some help with her magic, Felix can get some more time for himself too, and hopefully this was the right call for all of them and this trip will be worth it. 

Jeongin's heart drops when Yumi shifts in his arms and makes some sounds, but she stays asleep, and Jeongin feels something tug at his heart, as if there's a string attached to it. He wonders if Yumi unconsciously used magic, but it feels similar to what he sometimes feels around Felix yet different, so he's a little confused. Either way, it's pretty nice to just relax with Yumi in his arms, and he feels warm, even more so when Felix returns and has the fondest smile decorating his face as he sees Jeongin and Yumi. 

"You two look so sweet like this," Felix comments, coming to huddle close. "I think she feels safe right now." 

Jeongin's breath catches in his throat, touched by Felix's words, and he smiles. "I feel warm, too." 

"I'm glad we have you, Jeonginnie," Felix whispers before leaning in to kiss the top of Yumi's head, and then Jeongin's cheek, making him blush. Sure, Felix has kissed his cheek before, but mostly in excitement or cute aggression, now it just feels… intimate. 

"I am glad to have you two, as well," Jeongin answers, and the tug at his heart grows stronger, as if he's being pulled to both Felix and Yumi, but he doesn't think about it and simply enjoys the moment, letting it relax him. He thinks he’ll sleep well tonight. 

Jeongin wakes up facing Felix and Yumi, who is lying in between the two of them, and he thinks he likes waking up like this, but maybe he's getting ahead of himself. Felix might be grateful for Jeongin and love him a lot, but that doesn't mean that there are romantic feelings. He also knows that there doesn't have to be a romantic bond between him and Felix for him to help taking care of Yumi, but the more time he spends with Felix like this, the more he craves to kiss him between feeding Yumi, or hold hands as they play with her, or whisper loving words when Yumi is asleep between them, and it's bad for Jeongin's heart and resolve to not burden Felix with his feelings. 

"Hmm… Good morning, Innie," Felix greets him with his deep, rough voice, and it never fails to drive Jeongin insane. "Did you sleep well?" 

"Yeah, pretty well," he replies, leaving out the fact that he spent a good hour thinking about Felix on top of him in the snow and imagining them kissing. "What about you?" 

"Me too. I like sleeping like this with you and Yumi," he whispers, caressing Jeongin’s arm atop of the blankets, and Jeongin’s heart makes another fuss. "So I'm all ready to have another day of traveling." 

Jeongin agrees, though luckily today will be the shortest trip since the next town is not too far from here and they saw that there is a cart that can take them a long way, so they should reach it in the afternoon instead of the evening like they planned initially if they leave in time. 

Yumi is not that difficult considering the circumstances, so they are on their way soon enough after breakfast. Unfortunately because of the snow the cart can only take them halfway before it gets too difficult, but it's still a lot better than having to walk the whole way. 

"Are you visiting the festival?" the cart driver asks them, and chuckles at their confused expressions. "Ah, so you're not from around here?" 

"We aren’t, we're just traveling through," Felix confirms and the woman hums. 

"Well, you're in luck, because the town you're heading to is celebrating the winter festival today, and it's a lot of fun!" she explains with a big smile. "I always have a lot of people to transport around this time, and while the snow may stop my cart, it won't stop the festival, so I recommend enjoying it while you're there. There are food stands but also shows and fireworks! And most of it is free if not cheap!" 

"Oh! That certainly is lucky, we'll make sure to visit it!" Felix tells her before shooting Jeongin a bright grin and softly explaining to Yumi what is going on. "I hope it won't be too late for Yumi." 

The woman tells them that it will start in the late afternoon, so they can at least enjoy it a little bit before Yumi's bedtime, which is nice. Soon enough, the cart stops and they can't go further, so they have to continue on foot, but they thank the driver thoroughly before they continue. It's still only the beginning of their trip, and while they expect it to only last a week at most, Jeongin is happy that things have been going relatively well for them up until now. 

They walk the first part in comfortable silence through the snow before they take a break to eat lunch and feed Yumi and let Felix rest from carrying her (and Jeongin from carrying the bags). It’s pretty cold but the town should be close. 

"Will you be okay carrying her the rest of the way?" Jeongin asks as they’re walking again, and Felix nods. 

"Yeah, I prepared myself to carry her for almost a whole day, so I'm managing fine," he answers confidently. "Are you okay with the bags? When does your magic run out?" 

"Hmmm. I think I could last a whole day carrying them with magic, but it'd be tough and I'd be exhausted at the end," Jeongin replies thoughtfully. "I've never really pushed myself too hard before, though, so I'm not sure, but I’m pretty sure nothing bad happens other than me being drained if it runs out." 

"You'll tell me if you ever need a break, yeah?" Felix asks, and Jeongin confirms with a smile, feeling warm because of Felix's considerateness. It's a nice feeling in this cold. "Oh! There is the town!" 

Indeed, in the distance they can see a bustling town with people walking around and probably preparing for the festival. Yumi is starting to fall asleep in Felix's arms, though, so they should be careful not to disturb her too much. Jeongin fears that they can't keep Yumi asleep like this, so hopefully they'll be able to find a place to stay for the night soon and she can nap there before the festival starts. They hesitate walking directly into town, afraid to wake up Yumi, but on the other hand they want to explore and find somewhere to stay. 

"Hi there," someone approaches them with a kind smile— a wizard, if Jeongin feels his aura correctly. "You seem lost, are you here for the festival?" 

"Oh, uhm, not necessarily, we're just passing through, but we're looking for a place to stay for the night and maybe enjoy the festival, too," Jeongin explains in a hushed voice, and the wizard hums. 

"Ah, okay. I'm afraid that the inns are all full with tourists coming for the festival," he begins, and Jeongin’s stomach drops. "But I can't help but have noticed the way you were carrying the bags. Are you perhaps a traveling wizard?" 

"I am! My friend isn't a wizard, but his daughter is, too," Jeongin answers and the wizard's eyes light up. 

“Well, welcome to our town! We don't get wizards here often despite the festival, but it’s always nice to meet a fellow wizard,” he smiles, confirming Jeongin’s suspicions, and Felix gasps. “I’m Seungmin by the way, and if you want, you can all stay with me and my boyfriend. Our door is always open for wizards.”

“Oh my, thank you so much! I’m Felix, this is Jeongin, and this little one is Yumi,” Felix introduces them. “Would it be okay if we put our bags there and have Yumi nap there until the festival?” 

“Of course! Come, I’ll show you the way.” Seungmin beckons them to follow, and Yumi unfortunately wakes up due to the noise and starts crying, most likely overwhelmed by waking up surrounded by sounds and people. Felix hugs her close and shushes her softly, but Jeongin feels like she’ll only really calm down if she gets to fall asleep again. 

“Jinnie? I’m back and I brought some guests to stay over!” Seungmin announces when they get to Seungmin’s place, and someone with shoulder-length hair and a small, kind face appears. “Hyunjin, meet Felix, Jeongin, and Yumi. Guys, meet Hyunjin, my boyfriend.” 

“Nice to meet you— Sorry about Yumi crying, she got woken up from her nap,” Felix tells Hyunjin after greeting him, but he waves him off. 

“It’s all good, you can take care of her, and I’ll help you with the bags?” Hyunjin offers, turning to Jeongin.

“Ah, I can use my magic to easily carry them, don’t worry,” he tells him, and Hyunjin’s eyes widen.
“Ah! Of course! Let me point you to the guest room. Is it okay if you all share one room?” Hyunjin leads them there as Felix goes to the bathroom to change Yumi’s diaper and get her ready to have a nap while Jeongin puts down the bags. He can hear Seungmin and Hyunjin talking, with Seungmin explaining to Hyunjin that Jeongin and Yumi have magic, but the rest he can’t decipher. 

When he’s done with the bags, he looks at Felix, wordlessly asking him if he needs any help, but he seems to be doing fine with lulling Yumi back to sleep, so he complies when Felix softly tells him to go chat with Seungmin and Hyunjin. 

He finds them in the living room, and Seungmin offers him some tea which Jeongin happily accepts for both him and Felix. 

“I’ll have to continue helping prepare for the festival in a bit, but I’ll gladly see you there if you aren’t too tired from traveling,” Seungmin tells him, and Jeongin says they will definitely come if they can. “Great!” 

“So you and Felix are kind of like me and Minnie?” Hyunjin then asks when Seungmin puts down the teapot and mugs. “A wizard and a human in love?” 

Jeongin chokes on his own spit as he flushes and shakes his head. “No— uhm, we aren’t together. Felix is my best friend and we’re— we’re just traveling together.” 

Jeongin mentally facepalms at his stammering, probably making it obvious that he does have feelings for Felix, but Hyunjin and Seungmin aren’t making fun of him, luckily. 

“Ah, apologies— I just saw me and Seungminnie in you and Felix, especially with you all being so—” Hyunjin cuts off when Seungmin stops him and whispers something.

“...know that yet…find out for himself…” Jeongin can’t hear it properly, but he wonders what it’s about, yet if Seungmin is whispering, he assumes it’s not for his ears, even if it feels like it’s about him and Felix. Before he can even think of asking about it, though, Seungmin bids goodbye to him and leaves him alone with Hyunjin. Felix seems to be staying with Yumi as she naps, which is understandable, but Jeongin kind of misses him. Felix has always been better at talking to strangers than he is.

“Anyway. We don’t often get wizards around here, despite this town being founded by wizards, and Seungminnie told me you’re not here for the festival, can I ask what you’re traveling for?” Hyunjin continues, and Jeongin tells him about Yumi discovering her magic and them wanting to have her learn in a safe space. 

Hyunjin looks intrigued, and he seems to want to ask about Yumi, but he doesn’t, fortunately (Jeongin doesn’t feel like explaining that whole mess), so Jeongin asks him about him and Seungmin, and Hyunjin lights up.

“Seungminnie was actually traveling through here as well, not knowing about the festival necessarily,” Hyunjin tells him with big gestures. “The hotels were full even if it wasn’t the day of the festival yet, and he was cold and tired, so I felt for him and offered him a place to stay. He was actually in search of knowledge and new spells, so I showed him our library, where he could learn about the magical history of this town. The festival actually also has a magical origin, but over time wizards and witches dispersed and traditions changed.”

“Either way, Seungminnie loved it here, especially as I showed him around and we spent the festival together…” Hyunjin trails off with a lovestruck smile. “There was something magical about that day, I could feel it even if I’m not a wizard like Minnie, and it was the start of something beautiful for us. I don’t know if it was because we’re soulmates or for some other reason, but Seungmin told me he only felt the connection between us develop later, as if we built it ourselves, and I like that idea, too.” 

Jeongin’s eyes widen a little in realization when Hyunjin mentions soulmates, because he had the vague feeling as if there was something almost magical between Hyunjin and Seungmin, but he couldn’t quite place his finger on it and simply assumed it was because of their subtle fond looks and Seungmin being a wizard. He wonders how Seungmin knew that the bond developed later, but maybe he’s simply better at sensing those bonds than Jeongin is. Either way it’s a story that makes Jeongin feel warm, and deep down he hopes that this festival might be a magical experience for him, Felix, and Yumi as well, and maybe even be the start of something romantic, but maybe that’s simply too wishful and selfish of him.

When the conversation dies down a little, Jeongin pours some tea for Felix and brings his friend the mug. He seems to be content just relaxing on the bed with Yumi, but Jeongin wishes he could talk to Hyunjin if he wanted, too. Felix’s smile as he accepts the mug eases Jeongin, though, and his whispered thanks before Jeongin starts telling Felix about what they talked about makes him feel warm as well. 

Yumi soon wakes up again, and it was nice to relax for a bit— the cold and using magic really drains Jeongin’s energy, so he starts becoming excited for the festival. Hyunjin tells them they can eat lots there, so they don’t need to have dinner here, but Felix nevertheless feeds Yumi beforehand as she’s still getting used to eating other types of foods than mashed fruits and vegetables and all. 

With Yumi fed and rested, she isn’t as bothered by the busy streets and many things going on. In fact, she seems in awe with everything going on, the many lights, the people walking around with sparklers, happy smiles, and pretty clothing. Jeongin’s mouth waters seeing people eat all kinds of foods and smelling the aromatic odors from all the stands.

“Go try some foods!” Hyunjin encourages. “The food is free, since the winter festival encourages everyone to share what they have and create a sense of community and warmth in these cold times.” 

“That’s so lovely! And you don’t mind that many people come to visit for the free and cheap stuff?” Felix asks, and Hyunjin shakes his head. 

“Nope. It’s not like people give away more than they can afford to, and most of the time even visitors give something in return, whether it’s kindness or a story or something material,” Hyunjin tells them, and Jeongin starts to understand more and more why everyone seems to love this festival. Maybe they can come back here next year.

They get food at many different stalls with Hyunjin’s recommendation, and they find a bench to eat at, with Yumi on Felix’s lap eating tiny little bites from Felix’s food when he feeds her. It’s delicious, and Jeongin can’t help but moan at the heavenly taste, making Felix laugh fondly. 

“Hmm. This is nice,” Felix sighs happily as he puts his head on Jeongin’s shoulder. Hyunjin is finding Seungmin to  get him to join them since Seungmin will set up his stand to perform magic for people later in the evening (after the fireworks). 

“I agree,” Jeongin mutters, laying his head on Felix’s as he scoots a little closer. Even Yumi seems to be content right now, softly mumbling to herself as she watches all the people pass by. “It really makes this feel like a vacation or road trip.” 

“We’re really lucky, yeah. It makes me feel like this was the right thing to do,” Felix whispers, taking another bite of his food and giving a small bite to Yumi. “Whatever will happen after this, tonight will become a nice memory.” 

Jeongin hums in agreement, and he smiles when Felix presses himself against Jeongin’s side, getting cozy as they eat and watch people smiling and celebrating. When Hyunjin returns with Seungmin, they take them to see all kinds of little shops selling everything you can imagine, jewelry, bags, clothing, and toys. 

“Look, Yumi! Do you want one?” Felix asks when they come across a stall with stuffed dolls. “They look great don’t they? Which one do you want?” 

Yumi looks at the dolls with big eyes before she points at one and tries to grab it while squealing. The dolls shift a bit because of her magic, but she keeps it at bay as Felix grabs the doll, insisting to pay at least a little bit, and the stall owner tells Yumi to have fun with her new toy. 

“Look how cute! I think the doll kind of looks like you, Innie,” Felix chuckles as he gives it to Yumi, who holds it close to her. “It’s the sharp eyes that do it.” 

Jeongin snickers and shrugs, but before he can say anything, Felix gasps and runs off somewhere. “Hey, Lixie, wait! Where are you going?” 

“I’d like to have this one, it’s beautiful! How much?— Really? I— Okay thank you so much!” Jeongin hears Felix say as he catches up to him, and when his friend turns around with a big grin, he’s holding out an intricately knitted scarf with all of Jeongin’s favorite colors. “For you! You needed a new scarf, right? I think this one will fit you well, and the man said he knitted it himself.” 

Jeongin blushes as he accepts the scarf. “It’s really pretty. Thank you, Lixie.” 

“Of course. Here— Let me put it on.” Felix puts Yumi down for a second before he grabs the scarf and puts it on Jeongin with the brightest smile, and Jeongin falls in love with him all over again. Their hands brush when Jeongin adjusts the scarf a bit, and he can’t hold back a bashful giggle, especially when Felix squeezes his hand and lets his gaze linger for a few moments before letting go and picking Yumi, who has wandered off a few steps, up again. Jeongin’s insides are overflowing with love, and he really wants to do something in return even if he knows he doesn’t have to. 

He looks around before something catches his eye and he runs off much like Felix did. He arrives at a jewelry stall, and he only has half a mind to wonder how the residents of the town can simply give this all away for cheap— there isn’t a lot per se, but it’s all stunning. 

“You look like you’re in search of a special gift,” the woman at the stall says, and Jeongin nods dumbfoundedly, wondering how she got that right— she doesn’t seem to be a witch. “Is it for someone you love?” 

Jeongin flushes and nods again. She doesn’t necessarily have to be talking about romantic love, but Jeongin has the feeling she knows anyway. “Yes, it is…” 

“Then I have the perfect necklace!” She turns around and presents a necklace with a delicate chain and a clear blue rhinestone that has Jeongin taking in a breath at its beauty. Blue happens to be Felix’s favorite color, so it’s absolutely perfect.

“It’s beautiful— I– I feel like I have to give something in return for this,” Jeongin tells her, but she waves him off. “I– I can do magic! Is there really nothing? I can do a protective spell on the jewelry to make them last longer and keep their shine.” 

“Oh! That would be nice,” she answers with a smile and Jeongin gladly mutters the spell, and as he does so, she continues, “And… If it’s possible, I’d love to see you gift the necklace, if your loved one is here too.” 

“Oh– Uhm, yeah I could do that,” Jeongin replies softly, his cheeks feeling like they’re on fire, and just when he turns around, he sees Felix running at him.

“There you are! I wasn’t paying attention for one second because Yumi dropped her doll and the next moment you were gone!” Felix rambles, and he pouts when Jeongin chuckles. 

“Sorry, Lixie. I was just looking for something to give you in return for the scarf,” he explains and he quickly continues when Felix opens his mouth, “And before you protest. I want to give you this, not for the sake of giving something in return, but just because… because you deserve something nice, and I think you’ll love this.” 

He hands him the necklace, and the way Felix’s eyes widen, his mouth falls open, and his eyes glimmer as if the stars on his cheeks have found their way into his eyes, make Jeongin’s heart soar. “This is beautiful, Jeongin. I— I don’t know what to say! Someone gave you this for free? Or—” 

Yumi snatches the necklace out of Felix’s hand with a delighted squeak and Felix gasps. “Be careful, Yumi! Don’t put that in your mouth, sweetie—” 

Jeongin laughs sheepishly as Felix half-panickedly half-patiently gets Yumi to let go of the necklace before he safely puts it in his pocket and puts Yumi down for a moment. “I’ll put it on when we’re back. It’s really beautiful, thank you Jeonginnie. I love you.” 

Jeongin’s heart goes wild as Felix pulls him in for a big, warm hug, pressing his face into the side of Jeongin’s head and leaving a small kiss there. Jeongin tightly hugs him back in hopes of trying to squeeze all of his emotions out, but even if Felix tells him that he loves him more often, Jeongin can’t help but have his mind race. He positively feels like he’s overheating in the best way, and he presses a quick kiss to the side of Felix’s head too before Yumi starts whining for attention. 

“Sorry sweetie, do you want a hug and a kiss too?” Felix chuckles and picks her up again before kissing her chubby cheek at which she smiles and gives her dad a tiny kiss back. “Innie too?” 

Yumi looks at Jeongin at the mention of his nickname and Jeongin leans in slowly, hoping that Yumi will accept a kiss from him. She doesn’t lean away, so Jeongin softly pecks her rosy cheek. He doesn’t get one back, but he already counts this as a win. 

“How heartwarming,” the stall owner comments softly, and Jeongin blushes as he realizes she saw everything. “This is why I love this festival. And thank you again for your magic, I hope you all have a lovely night.” 

“Same to you,” Jeongin softly replies before he tugs Felix away before he combusts with too much love. 

“You used your magic?” Felix asks curiously, and Jeongin hums. 

“Yeah, I found the necklace so pretty that I felt like I had to do something in return, so I offered to make the jewelry more durable,” he explains with a dry voice, his heart still pounding harshly from everything that just happened. Fortunately, Hyunjin and Seungmin join them again, telling them that the fireworks show is about to start.

“Oh, great timing! Then Yumi can watch that before she has to go to bed,” Felix says, and Yumi already seems excited at the mention of fireworks. She has only seen Jeongin doing small magic fireworks, though, so it’ll still be a question of whether she’ll like the real deal. 

They gather at a big square as Felix whispers to Yumi, probably preparing her for what’s about to come, and Jeongin is surprised time after time by Felix’s parenting skills. Sure, he isn’t perfect, but he’s so so patient and so so sweet and encouraging, it amazes Jeongin, because he knows, he has seen that being a parent isn’t easy, it’s tiring and frustrating and definitely not for everyone, but Jeongin thinks that Felix does amazingly, because he enjoys helping people, he thrives off being there for someone and making them happy, so to him, it’s worth all the hardships. 

Jeongin feels the same, he loves kids a lot and it has been his dream for a while to work with kids (especially with witch and wizard kids), but loving kids doesn’t automatically make someone good with them, and Jeongin feels like Felix has found a good balance. At first he was insecure about it, and he sometimes still is, but he has grown so much in a year, and it’s clear that Yumi loves him with all of her heart. 

Jeongin is startled out of his thoughts when he hears the first sound of fireworks, and Yumi lets out a distressed cry too, but Felix holds her close and points up, continuing to whisper soothing words to her. Soon enough, she gets distracted by the pretty colors and sparkles, and Jeongin watches the two of them for a moment, his heart at ease as he sees the fireworks reflected in their eyes. 

As if he feels Jeongin’s gaze on him, Felix looks at him and holds out his hand, and Jeongin is confused for a second before he understands that Felix wants him to hold his hand, so he grabs it, and Felix intertwines their fingers, carrying Yumi with one arm. 

"It's beautiful, huh?" Felix comments, his voice just above the sound of the fireworks and Yumi squealing as she points up. 

"Yeah," Jeongin breathes, and he can’t help but look at Felix again as he says so, but he finds Felix already looking at him. Jeongin's breath catches in his throat, gulping thickly at the way Felix gazes at him, and it tugs at Jeongin's heart, urging him to come closer. He only has half the mind to wonder why Felix was already looking at him, but he’s distracted by the way Felix’s freckles look beautiful under the colorful fireworks. “You… You loo—” 

“Wawawa!” Yumi exclaims — her way of saying fireworks — and when Jeongin looks over, he sees sparks hovering above her little outstretched hand. 

Felix gasps when he notices it too, and he shoots Jeongin a concerned look, but Jeongin squeezes his hand reassuringly when he inspects Yumi’s magic a little closer. 

“It’s just an illusion. I’d be impressed if she would be able to create real sparks at this age,” Jeongin tells Felix. He mostly uses illusions with Yumi too, only creating actual sparks if he wants to get her attention with sound, so if Yumi somehow copied his magic, it should be an illusion as well. 

“Okay, thank goodness,” Felix chuckles, his cheeks red for some reason, but he seems to pull himself together as he focuses on Yumi. “Yes, fireworks, Yumi! You’re making them too!” 

Yumi cheers happily and Jeongin can’t even feel bummed out about her interrupting his moment with Felix. It wasn’t even really a moment, they were just looking at each other, but Jeongin can do that for hours if he wanted, and it’s not like Felix would magically return his feelings if they just stared into each other’s eyes for long enough or if Jeongin gathered the courage to call Felix beautiful. Hyunjin and Seungmin might have had their romantic awakening here, but that doesn’t mean he and Felix will, however much Jeongin would love that.

Nevertheless it has been a great night and he’s content watching the fireworks while holding Felix’s hand and hearing Yumi’s delighted sounds as she creates her own little sparks too. After the show, it’s time for Yumi to go to bed, so they can’t stay for much longer, but Jeongin doesn’t mind too much, he thinks they’ve seen a lot of the festival and he’s getting pretty tired too. Even if it’s early to go to bed, Yumi wakes up early too, and Jeongin is a morning person as well, and on top of that traveling stays exhausting especially with all the magic Jeongin is using, even if they could rest a bit in the afternoon, so Jeongin and Felix also slowly get ready for bed after lulling an exhausted Yumi to sleep and cleaning up. 

“Oh right, the necklace! Innie, can you help me put it on?” Felix asks him when they’re almost ready to climb into bed. 

“You want to wear it now? With your pajamas?” Jeongin chuckles, and Felix nods determinedly. 

“Yes! I want to wear it forever, and it’s small enough to not get it the way when I sleep,” he answers, and Jeongin doesn’t have anything to say against that, so he accepts the necklace and stands behind his friend to put it on and appreciates the fact that Felix loves the gift so much. 

“It looks really good on you, Lix. It suits you,” Jeongin comments softly as he clicks the necklace closed and lets his hands linger on Felix’s shoulders, and even from behind Jeongin can see that Felix smiles. He takes in a breath when Felix turns around and cups his cheeks with a serious expression, looking into Jeongin’s eyes intensely before he speaks.

“You have to stop being so sweet, Jeongin,” he whispers, sounding almost out of breath, and Jeongin is speechless, not understanding what he did to have Felix say this to him. His heart is going wild and it reminds him of yesterday in the snow. It’s only the second day of their trip and it’s already the second time Jeongin feels like he’s a second away from kissing Felix’s plump lips right then and there, their faces mere centimeters away. 

Their eyes meet for a short, warm, and tense moment before Felix’s trail down and Jeongin’s heart shoots into overdrive. 

“Or else?” he asks softly, taking the coward route and breaking the tension a little. He hates that he can’t be confident for once, but he wants to think about things before confessing to Felix or kissing him. With Yumi in the picture he just doesn’t want to take the risk to change things too much or make things awkward or scare Felix away, even if he logically knows that Felix would probably be understanding. 

“Or else..?” Felix repeats as if Jeongin just pulled him out of his thoughts, and his face falls a little as he looks away and lets his hands drop. “Ah— Nevermind.” 

Jeongin’s heart drops and he has no idea what is happening, so he grabs Felix’s wrist when his friend turns away from him. “Wait– Are you okay, Lixie?” 

Felix sighs and smiles at him (Jeongin is glad to see that it reaches his eyes, by now he can tell Felix’s fake smiles apart from the real ones). “I’m okay, yes. More than okay, even. I just… got a bit emotional because of everything that has been going on.” 

Jeongin still doesn’t understand it completely, but he lets it slide, seeing that Felix doesn’t want to say much more than this, so he just pulls Felix into a brief hug, which Felix seems to appreciate seeing that he melts into Jeongin’s embrace and holds him tightly in return. 

“Thank you, Jeonginnie,” he breathes, his breath hitting Jeongin’s skin, and Jeongin shivers a little at the ticklish feeling. But it’s okay, because it’s Felix. “Let’s get some sleep, we have a long day of traveling ahead tomorrow.” 

Yumi is between them again when they get into bed, and somehow Jeongin feels more connected to Felix and her than ever. Yumi doesn’t treat him like she treats Felix yet, but Jeongin takes every small step towards her getting more comfortable with him as a win, so her allowing him to kiss her cheek today made him happy. This whole night has made him happy, and he’s glad that Felix and Yumi had such a great time today as well, because he had expected this trip to just be a means to an end, but instead they’re already making lovely memories, and with that thought Jeongin manages to fall into a peaceful sleep. 

The next day starts off chaotic. Yumi wakes up crying and with a dirty diaper, and while it’s super sweet that Seungmin and Hyunjin have made breakfast for them, Yumi makes a mess because she accidentally uses her magic while eating. Hyunjin and Seungmin are patient and kind as they help even there, offering to do a quick wash and drying of all of their clothes (with magic) while they change Yumi and get everything ready to continue their trip, but it’s still tiring. 

They wanted to leave as early as they could, but with them sleeping in, Seungmin and Hyunjin being so kind and hospitable and chatting with them lots, and Yumi having some troubles, it’s closer to the afternoon than they would have liked. At least Seungmin and Hyunjin gave them plenty of food to bring along so they will be set for lunch and dinner even if they wouldn’t be able to reach the next town in time. It’ll be a long walk, but they planned their routes such that they should be able to get to a town within about half a day (they’ll be taking a bit of a detour so they reach the closest town rather than going straight towards their final destination), so even with the snow, even if they rest for a bit, they should reach the next town at Yumi’s bedtime at the latest. 

Yumi is mostly quiet and content as they walk, bundled up and hugging her new doll as Felix holds her, so that is going well, but Jeongin is cold and tired even after only a couple of hours walking including a lunch break. 

“Hmm… Everything looks the same in the snow, it’s difficult to see where we’re going,” Jeongin mutters as he squints at the map. He marked the path they need to go, but it’s not nearly as easy as it was between the first two towns even if you don’t count the carriage ride. They already made sure they would skip the forest as much as they could, taking a detour around it, but they will still have to travel through it for quite a bit to reach the town. “We have to go through a forest, so I’d say that way.” 

Felix peeks over his shoulder at the map and shrugs. “Yeah, sounds like that should be right.” 

They continue walking and Jeongin shivers and tugs his scarf up when a cold breeze blows past. He already prepared himself to be cold and uncomfortable the whole trip, but even if it’s expected, it’s not nice, and Jeongin hopes that Felix and Yumi are better off than him.

“Oh, Yumi, you’re so warm!” Felix comments a while later, and Jeongin turns to them as Felix looks at him as well. “Is that… a bad thing? Is she getting sick or is this magic?” 

Jeongin drops the bags for a moment as they stand still and Jeongin inspects Yumi. “She’s using magic. Maybe she’s a bit cold or sensed that you’re cold and she’s compensating for that.” 

“Oh, okay. Good job, then, Yumi,” Felix praises, patting her head before hugging her close. “Don’t overdo yourself, yeah?” 

Jeongin smiles at the sight, but there’s a small pang of jealousy in his chest hearing Felix’s words. Jeongin is starting to feel exhausted from carrying their bags even if he’s been trying to use minimal magic and do a bit of the lifting himself, but that only means that his muscles are getting tired as well, and that doesn’t go well with the cold. He wishes Felix would tell him not to overdo himself, but it’s a silly wish, because unlike Yumi, Jeongin can take care of himself just fine and he knows that Felix wouldn’t want him to overdo it without Felix having to tell him.

Feelings are complicated, and Jeongin is starting to have trouble staying positive with all the small discomforts and inconveniences they’ve had today adding up. 

"Jeonginnie, the sun is starting to set, are we almost there?" Felix asks, Yumi getting a little fussy in his arms, and Jeongin squints at the map for the fifth time this hour. 

"We should be… the town should be just through this part of the forest, if we're in the right part," Jeongin mutters to himself, but when he looks around, he sees no end to this forest, while they actually already should have reached the town a while ago if Jeongin's estimation would be right. He is starting to lose hope because it seems like they're lost— he is pretty sure they’ve been lost for a while now, but he is afraid to own up to it— he is in charge of guiding them to the town after all. 

He bites his lip as a sudden wave of guilt and shame washes over him, and he can feel his magic wavering as his body wants to just shut down and curl up somewhere warm—

"Jeongin, what's wrong?" Felix's voice sounds, and Jeongin presses his lips together tightly as his friend's voice makes him even more emotional and unsteady. "Put the bags down for a second and talk to me, what's wrong?" 

Jeongin exhales deeply when he lets go of his magic and the bags fall down into the snow, but he can't get himself to look at Felix, afraid that his best friend will look right through him and be disappointed before Jeongin can even speak.

"We're— We're lost. I— I don’t know where we are and I don't know which way the town is– I thought I knew, but we should’ve long reached town by now if we weren’t lost," he admits shakily. "I'm sorry— I don’t know any magic that could help either, I— I'm sorry, Lixie—" 

"Stop, Jeongin." Felix's low voice is enough to halt Jeongin's rambling, and he takes in a forced breath when Felix's small hand finds his jaw. "It– It sucks, but it can happen. It's not like I'd be able to do any better, so I'm already grateful that you're here to try. I— We'll figure something out together, okay?" 

“You’re not mad? Not even for Yumi?” Jeongin stammers, and Felix softens, shaking his head as he removes his hand. Jeongin already misses the touch. 

“No I’m not mad— I’m just worried,” Felix answers, picking Yumi, who was waddling in the snow for a minute, up again. “But that’s not your fault. As I said, you can only do so much. and I know that you don’t want us to get lost. It happened, so we should try to make the best of it.” 

“You’re right— Thank you,” Jeongin breathes and nods, feeling a bit more confident with Felix’s positive thinking. He can tell that Felix is nervous, too, but he hid it in order to help Jeongin, and it’s touching, really. “We’ll think of something. Should we look for a place to set up camp already? I don’t think we’ll reach town before dark if we don’t know where we’re going.” 

Felix agrees, so Jeongin lifts the bags again and they continue walking, but Yumi is already getting fussy and hungry, urging them to make haste in finding somewhere to sleep. Fortunately, they soon find a small, shallow, dry cave, so Jeongin tells Felix to take care of Yumi while Jeongin gathers some firewood. The snow will make it hard to light, but fortunately Jeongin has magic to help with that.

When he returns, Yumi has calmed down a little and Felix is already laying down blankets and pillows and plushies to get comfortable on the cold, hard stone floor. 

“You’re back. This cave is a pretty good spot! I’m glad we at least don’t have to lie in the snow,” Felix mutters, and Jeongin agrees. “Do you think any animals will come here, though?”
“Hmm… Maybe not in winter, but I can put up a protective barrier in front of the cave just in case,” Jeongin says, putting down the firewood before muttering a spell that will set up an invisible wall against outsiders (which fortunately doesn’t require too much magical energy and also doesn’t sap it constantly, only if someone were to try to destroy the barrier). The fire should be easy enough as well, for which Jeongin is glad because he feels like he’s slowly approaching his limit in terms of spending magical energy. 

“Thank you, Jeonginnie, this isn’t too bad,” Felix says when Jeongin lights the fire and they finally relax a little again. It’s still cold and the hard ground isn’t the most comfortable, but it’s better than it could have been. Especially when they have some food and time to rest and replenish some (magical) energy, Jeongin starts to feel like this isn’t too bad indeed, because even if Yumi protests against having her diaper changed because it’s cold, Felix handles it well and Yumi doesn’t burn him with her skin. 

“What is it, Yumi? You’ve had food, we changed your diaper… are you cold?” Felix asks his daughter softly when she can’t seem to fall asleep. Yumi whines and Felix looks at Jeongin for help. “She seems to be getting a bit warmer with magic again, but…” 

“She shouldn’t be using magic all night, she’s definitely not strong enough for that yet,” Jeongin finishes, and Felix nods, whispering some soothing words to Yumi. “You two should definitely keep warm tonight. Here, take my coat as an extra blanket—” 

“Wait— You’ll freeze!” Felix stops him when Jeongin starts shrugging off his coat. “I can also use mine to cover us both, right? Yumi is most important.” 

“But won’t Yumi be cold if you’re cold, too? It’d be better to share your body warmth as much as you can,” Jeongin retorts, and Felix seems to be considering it, but he’s still reluctant. “I have magic to keep me warm. I’ll be fine. As you said, Yumi is most important.” 

Maybe Jeongin is kind of exaggerating when he says he’ll be fine, but he has some more time to rest before he has to use his magic, so maybe it will be fine, though he has never pushed his magic to the limits before, so they’ll have to see what happens. All he knows is that he can’t kill himself by using too much magic, it will most likely just stop when he has run out of energy and he’ll be absolutely exhausted, so Jeongin is willing to do this for Felix and Yumi. 

“Okay, fine. I guess you’re right and I should stay warm for her, too,” Felix relents, hugging Yumi closer and opening his coat a little to put her inside his clothing so that they’re more skin on skin to share as much body warmth as they can. “Thank you, Jeongin.” 

“Any time.” Jeongin takes off his coat and drapes it over his friend and his daughter as they lie down on the makeshift pillow, and Jeongin ruffles Yumi’s hair as he wishes her goodnight. “I have my new scarf and old scarf to keep me warm, too.”

Felix chuckles, but he seems to notice that Jeongin is putting on a brave front for him. Even if Jeongin would have been a good liar, Felix knows him too well to be fooled by his act. “Put on another sweater and stay close to us and the fire, okay?”

“Will do,” Jeongin promises, and he does as Felix says, trying to get cozy as he lies down next to Felix and Yumi, using his clothes as a pillow and blanket, but it doesn’t do much, so he casts a warming spell on himself and sighs in relief. He hopes this will last him for the night, but at least he can fall asleep with this, because now that he’s warm, he feels how incredibly tired he is, and it doesn’t take him long to fall asleep. 

Jeongin wakes up frozen to his core, and he gasps as he tries to move his body, anything— even with gloves on his fingers and so many layers of clothing he has become numb from the cold. He groans softly and tries to get his blood rushing again, tiredly and heavily jostling and turning his body. He’s absolutely exhausted and he feels as if he's been hollowed out from the inside and filled with an icy cold, his whole body aching and complaining. He can’t even sense if he can use his magic right now or not, but when he tries, he winces and curls up in pain as the stinging aching gets worse. 

He’s already out of breath from merely waking up and he blacks out for a second when he pushes himself up with shaky arms, but the silver lining is that at least Felix and Yumi are still sleeping somewhat peacefully— that was most important. It’s still pretty dark out, but the sun should be coming up soonish, so no time for going back to sleep. Not that Jeongin thinks he can sleep with this deep aching in his body and this dizziness plaguing him, but it at least means that Jeongin doesn’t have to wait too long for Felix and Yumi to wake up, hopefully.

He sluggishly grabs a stick and pokes the fire to keep it burning for just a bit longer before he slowly and shakily crawls over to their bag with food, biting through the discomfort in his muscles and the way he feels like he’s going to pass out. He gulps some water and shakily eats a few bites of the snacks Hyunjin gave them, but he still can’t feel his fingertips and he’s been trembling ever since he woke up, unable to stop, and he hates it because it costs energy. Even chewing is difficult with the way he’s gasping for breath between bites, but he hopes that some food and water will help him feel warmer in the long run, so he tries to pull through. 

He curls in on himself close to the fire and tries to keep warm and distract himself from this horrible feeling when he hears Yumi’s voice. He perks up and immediately regrets moving, a sudden wave of vertigo and agony crashing into him, but he needs to check on Yumi. She seems to be pretty fine, looking up at him curiously, but then she starts squirming inside Felix’s coat, probably wanting to get out now. 

“Shh, Yumi, we’ll get you out in a moment. Don’t you— want to stay warm for a bit more?” he softly asks her, breathing shallowly between every word. “I’m actually— pretty jealous that you– can be warm right now.” 

Fuck, why does even talking cost so much energy? Jeongin wonders, panting heavily as he tries to recover. He can’t use magic to fix this either, that’ll most likely only make things worse if he can go off the way it hurt like a bitch when he tried a moment ago. And unfortunately Yumi doesn’t agree with him that she wants to stay warm for a moment more because she starts whining more loudly, and however much he wants to soothe her and tell her to let Felix sleep more, Jeongin can’t move, frozen in pain and cold, afraid that he’ll collapse if he tries anything. He doesn’t think Yumi will appreciate him touching her with his cold (though gloved) hands anyway, so he’ll just try to wait for the wave of suffering to pass, his eyes shut tightly. 

“I–I’m sorry, Yumi,” he pants, sweating yet still shivering heavily. Yumi's cries break his heart but he can't do anything but completely curl up on himself and try to not feel like he'll simply shut down. He has never felt like this before, as if he's sick but it has infiltrated his veins, muscles, lungs– his whole body, and impeded his ability to fully feel or control his body, and he doesn’t know if it’s the cold or the depletion of magical energy or something else that did it. 

He stills for a second when he hears Felix groaning and waking up, but even then, he can’t move or hide how awful he feels.

“Huh?— Yumi? What’s wrong? Are you okay, sweetie? Do you want out?” Felix asks his daughter in a rough voice, and Jeongin hears some rustling and Yumi’s crying calming down a little, but she’s still whining. It feels like the sound is far away even if they're right next to him. “Here— Did you sleep well? I’ll feed you and change your diaper in a bit, yeah?” 

Despite Felix’s gentle voice, Yumi complains, and Felix sighs softly. “I know you don’t like the cold, but it’ll be nice to have a clean—” 

“Imie!” Yumi exclaims. “Owin!”

“Wh— shit— Jeongin—” Felix curses under his breath, usually careful not to swear around Yumi, and Jeongin soon feels his coat being draped over his shoulders— it’s heavy, all of his clothes feel like they’re dragging him down— but he can't even react, having lost control over his trembling body. “Innie– are you awake? You’re shaking!” 

Jeongin nods slowly and mechanically, letting Felix pull him up and hug him close. He’s warm. It’s nice, but Jeongin still takes a moment to respond. “M-m-m-magic ran out.” 

“Fuck– Really? And you didn’t tell me? You should’ve woken me up! Yumi and I would’ve survived a few hours without your coat— we at least had each other's warmth!” Felix’s voice is strained with worry and Jeongin hates it, he doesn’t want to feel guilty on top of this horrible, cold and aching feeling. 

“S-s-sorry. I– only noticed when I woke up,” Jeongin whispers, breathing heavily. The sweat is running down his temple but he’s still so, so cold. “Just… n-need to replenish energy. You— take care of Yumi.”

“Gosh, Jeongin…” Felix sighs defeatedly, caressing Jeongin's jaw with his warm, gloved hand. "If I knew that this could happen—" 

"I kn-know. I—I didn't know either." Jeongin tiredly leans into Felix's touch, feeling a tiny bit better with his coat and Felix and his warmth close by. "Just take care of Yumi, okay? I'll be— fine. S-somewhat." 

Felix frowns but reluctantly pulls away and turns to Yumi, leaving Jeongin cold and aching on the ground, but there's nothing they can do. Jeongin winces as a wave of pain hits him, but he's slowly, very slowly starting to feel a little warmer, especially when Felix offers him some warm water and warm food he heated over the fire after taking care of Yumi and helps him drink and eat because Jeongin is shaking too much. 

"What should we do, Jeongin? I— You can't walk like this, right?" Felix asks softly, worry evident in his voice despite him trying to hide it. It seems to affect Yumi as well, because she has been a little fussy ever since she woke up. “Even if you can, I can’t carry all the bags for long enough to get anywhere.”
“I— I can still try to c-carry one bag. We should find– somewhere warm,” Jeongin replies before taking a moment to breathe and recover. “I… I’m gaining a little energy, s-so– we should at least try, I think.” 

Felix seems doubtful about the plan, and Jeongin is, too, he feels like he’ll walk at a snail's pace at the absolute best, and when a gust of wind blows into the cave, Jeongin shivers and winces in pain. 

“You really think you can do it? I— I mean, I guess it would be bad for you to stay in this cold for much longer, so maybe we should try, yeah,” Felix sighs, running a hand through his hair with a troubled expression. “Okay, I’ll gather the bags and see how much I can carry. You carry the light and easy ones and tell me if you need any help or more time to rest, yeah?”
Jeongin hums and tries to gather his things, but Felix stops him, telling him to rest some more until Felix has packed all the bags again and they can leave. Jeongin appreciates it a lot, but he doesn’t feel a lot better after getting another minute or two to just sit beside the fire. Yumi waddles over to him as Felix packs their bags, and Jeongin softens, even if she’s just looking at him with big eyes and not really doing anything else, he appreciates her concern.

“Come here, Innie, I’ll help you,” Felix whispers when he’s done packing and gathering the bags, and he helps Jeongin stand up slowly. His legs are shaky and his muscles still ache, but he can stand on his own without feeling like he’ll die, and he thinks he might be able to carry a bag if he slings it over his shoulder and it’s not too heavy— his shoulders are pretty numb anyway. Felix helps him with that, too, and if Jeongin wasn’t suffering through hell right now nor focusing on surviving, he would have found it funny to see Felix carrying three big bags and Yumi. “Okay, let’s go— take it easy, yeah?”

Jeongin nods and manages to slowly, very slowly take a few steps (it’s more dragging his feet than taking steps with his body and clothes feeling so heavy, but it’s something), but Felix isn’t fast at all either with the bags, so they just slowly shuffle through the snow with labored breaths. Jeongin hadn’t accounted for it being significantly colder outside the cave with the sharp, freezing wind blowing, though, and he can feel that his condition is worsening rapidly as his body tries to fight the cold. He’s started to tremble continuously again, and it’s as if the cold is draining all the energy from his body, his steps slowing as he loses control over his body more and more. 

He wants to stop but he doesn’t want to stop and cause Felix more troubles. When his vision blacks out for a moment, though, he is forced to stop– his body fighting to stay upright. “Lixie— ugh— w-wait a second—” 

Instead of making it better, though, stopping only makes his body focus on everything that’s wrong, the icy cold getting worse and a sharp sting of pain makes him double over and lose his balance, dropping the bag.

“Shit— Jeonginnie hang on—” Felix rushes to put down his bags, but Jeongin can’t see even it, unable to tell up from down and right from left as his vision blacks out again. He feels a vague thud of his body slamming into something cold yet soft, and he hears Felix and Yumi yell, “ Jeongin! ” in distress before he loses consciousness. 

He wakes up again with a start, drawing in a large breath as a surge of energy wracks through him. His eyes fly open and he jolts in shock and yells when he sees an unfamiliar face stare down at him.

“Woah! Easy there— I know it’s a lot to handle to suddenly get your magical energy back, but you’re fine. Relax,” the guy tells him as Jeongin breathes frantically. “Also, sorry— I had to use some magic on you, but your friend said it was okay if it would help you.” 

Speaking of his friend— Jeongin is ambushed by Felix suddenly hugging him tightly. Despite it hurting, it’s warm, and it pulls him back to reality. 

“You scared me so much, Jeongin— Please– Please never do that again,” Felix demands with a fragile, watery voice, and Jeongin’s heart breaks when he sees his red puffy eyes and obvious tear streaks running down his freckled cheeks. He hears Yumi cry in agreement, and only then he notices that Yumi is hugging him too, and he swallows thickly, still trying to process what happened, still trying to get the feeling in his body back and take in these unfamiliar surroundings, but Felix’s warm hug helps a little.

“I— I–I’m sorry, Lixie– Yumi,” he stammers, lifting his trembling arms to embrace Felix and Yumi, and he turns his head towards the unfamiliar wizard, trying to sit up a little. “Th-Thank you for… helping me.” 

“No problem, but take it easy, okay? Your energy might have returned, but you still need to rest. You really pushed yourself over the limit,” he says, and Jeongin complies, lying back down with a sigh and melting into Felix’s hold. “I’m Minho, by the way. I live here in the forest and found your friend and his daughter crying for help. I only found you because of some magical distress signal, which was lucky, because you weren’t in good shape in the slightest and I found you quite a bit away from my house or any town.” 

Jeongin averts his eyes in shame, he’s thankful and relieved but he also feels incredibly guilty for things having come so far that Felix and Yumi were worried out of their minds. “Th-Thank you for helping us, really. I– I don’t even know how this happened. It–It was unlike anything I’ve experienced before.” 

Minho crosses his arms and hums as Felix keeps caressing Jeongin. “From what I’ve gathered by examining you and from what your friend told me, you were suffering from heavy magical energy depletion combined with mild hypothermia. Your body most likely tried to still keep you warm with magic even if you didn’t have any energy left and it all piled up.” 

Jeongin nods shakily, thinking it makes sense, and he’s honestly still exhausted and a bit cold despite having a thick blanket thrown over him. When Minho leaves them alone to get Jeongin a hot drink, Felix finally speaks up again. 

“You really scared me, Jeongin,” Felix repeats with a shaky voice, and it pierces through Jeongin’s chest. “And Yumi too.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I— I didn’t know this could happen.” 

Felix sits up with a sigh and gets a chair to sit on next to Jeongin with Yumi before he grabs Jeongin’s hand. “I– I know. I’m just glad you’re okay now, glad that you sent that signal as a last resort so that Minho could find you.” 

Jeongin smiles and breathes out in relief too, but then he frowns. “Wait– I don’t think I did that. I think I would’ve felt that, because in hindsight, I did feel that my body was trying to warm itself with magic, but I didn’t send any signal I’m pretty sure.”

“So– So Yumi sent the signal?” Felix gasps and Jeongin hums with a tired smile. Felix hugs his daughter closely with a bright smile in response. “Oh my goodness, you’re a lifesaver, Yumi! Thank you for looking out for Jeongin.” 

He kisses his daughter’s head a few times, and Jeongin softly thanks her as well. Yumi squeals and pats her warm little hand on Jeongin’s head when Felix turns her around on his lap, and Jeongin softens, sighing in relief at her warm touch. Soon, Felix’s free hand joins Yumi’s in caressing him, and it already goes a long way in warming Jeongin up even more after their hugs.

“How are you feeling, Innie?” Felix whispers, and Jeongin’s heart skips a beat at his friend’s low, deep, gentle voice paired with his small hand running through his sweaty hair.

“Way better than before, but s-still tired and cold,” he replies, and he lifts a shaky hand to trace his finger along the fading tear streaks lining Felix’s cheek. “I’m sorry again for worrying you and Yumi.” 

“It’s okay. I know you didn’t want this to happen,” Felix tells him, his fingertips brushing over the side of Jeongin’s head as he squeezes Jeongin’s hand. “I– I was worried and freaked out of my mind, yes, but I’m calmer now, and I know that you simply wanted what’s best for Yumi and didn’t know that this would happen. So don’t apologize anymore, Innie. We both forgive you, right, Yumi?” 

Yumi says something that sounds like ‘yes’, but Jeongin wonders if she understood what Felix even said. Maybe she did, sometimes it shocks Jeongin how intuitive Yumi already is, but either way it makes him feel warm and relieved. 

“Thank you both,” Jeongin mutters. “But you were wrong about one thing, Lixie.” 

Felix frowns a little, and Jeongin blushes before he gathers the courage to continue. “I didn’t do all this because I want what’s best for only Yumi, I want it for you, too.” 

Felix’s eyes widen before he softens and blushes. “Gosh, Innie, since when have you become this cheesy? Did you hit your head?”

Jeongin chuckles bashfully and shrugs, happy that the heavy atmosphere has been lifted somehwat. “Don’t tell me you don’t love it.” 

Felix laughs and leans in to peck Jeongin’s cheek before whispering, “I do love it. I—”

“Sorry it took so long, Soonie had knocked over some cans so I had to clean up before I could get the soup going,” Minho announces as he walks in, and Jeongin flushes as Felix pulls back. “Oh— Did I interrupt something? Did I mishear that you’re friends?” 

“Ah– No, we’re friends, I did say that, yes,” Felix clarifies, and Jeongin’s heart sinks a little as he presses his lips together. “We’re just really close. We’ve known each other for a long time, after all, and Jeongin has been there for me through some tough times.” 

Minho hums in understanding, and Jeongin tries to hide his disappointment. He should be happy that Felix is this sweet about it, but it feels like Felix is saying that this new intimacy they’ve found with each other is simply because they’ve grown even closer as friends, which isn’t bad. Jeongin is happy with it even if it’s platonic, but he can’t help but wish that there would be a romantic edge to it for Felix like there is for him. 

“It’s nice to have friends like that,” Minho says before handing Jeongin his soup. Felix helps him sit up in the bed before he takes Yumi to another room to change her diaper and feed her— apparently Felix and Yumi had been here waiting for Jeongin to regain consciousness the whole time. 

“For how long was I unconscious? Was it a lot of trouble getting me here?” Jeongin asks softly as Minho sits down in a chair after promising Felix to look out for Jeongin. 

“Hmm. I don’t know how long you were lying there before I found you, but I came as soon as I felt the distress signal,” Minho tells him. “As I said, I found your friend and his witch daughter crying in the snow. Felix barely managed to make coherent sentences, but I knew that we had to get you to a warm place, so we— or I, rather, quickly improvised a way to make a stretcher so we could carry you to my place. The kid — Yumi, right? — lied on top of you as Felix and I carried you and I carried the rest of the bags with magic. It wasn’t easy with your friend still shaken up and crying, but we managed. Here, we got you warm first and Felix told me more about what happened as I examined you. When I noticed you had serious magic depletion, I shared some of my energy with you after getting Felix’s permission, which woke you up. I’d say this all took about an hour.”

Jeongin nods slowly, letting everything sink in, and his stomach twists as he imagines Felix and Yumi in panic. “Really— Thank you for helping, I know I’m repeating myself, but thank you. You don’t mind letting us into your home?” 

Minho shrugs. “Nah. It can get pretty lonely living in this forest, even if I have my cats and the other animals, and I knew that you weren’t scammers as soon as I felt the distress signal. Most witches and wizards don’t even know it exists or how to use it, but even if someone knew how to do it without being in danger, I think I’d feel it. I don’t know how to explain it, but I knew this was genuine, and I wouldn’t let a fellow wizard fend for himself in this cold if I can help.” 

Jeongin chuckles softly at the way Minho says these kind words so nonchalantly, as if they’re not that special, but Jeongin is endlessly grateful. “I feel the same, but still thank you. I… Is there anything we can do in return for your kindness?” 

Minho hums in thoughts for a moment as Jeongin slurps up some more warm soup. “Felix told me you’re on your way to a town nearby to help with the magic school they’re setting up and have Yumi learn about magic there, too. I had already caught wind of that being set up — they sent me a letter about it — and I’ve been thinking about maybe checking it out to see if I can help as well. If you don’t mind, I’d like to travel there with you when you’re back to full strength.” 

“Oh– That’d actually be nice since we got lost in this forest before already,” Jeongin admits with a sheepish smile. “I’m sure Felix and Yumi would be happy to have you join us, too.”

“Great. That’s all the repayment I need. Now, give me your bowl and rest some more. You might have a cold aside from having magical depletion too.” Minho stands up and takes the empty bowl while Jeongin lies back down. “It might feel like you’re almost all better, but magical energy can be deceiving, and especially if it’s cold out you will end up using more than you think you are.” 

Jeongin hums, he has definitely learned that now, and if he’s honest with himself, he could really use a full day of rest if not more, and he imagines that Felix and Yumi would be the same. Yumi hasn’t been a danger to herself with her magic so far, and they have an extra set of wizard eyes to spot if something goes wrong, so they’re all good here if Jeongin is out for the rest of the day. 

Jeongin ends up falling asleep for a bit, and when he wakes up feeling the sensation of fingers tenderly carding through his hair. He slowly blinks his eyes open, and he’s met with Felix’s gentle gaze. 

“Hey there,” Felix whispers with a smile, his deep voice reverberating through Jeongin’s chest. “Did you have a nice nap?” 

“I did… I’m still a bit drowsy, but at least I’m finally feeling warm now,” Jeongin replies as he stretches himself and pushes himself up— slowly, he doesn’t want to black out again, but he’s feeling a lot better after a nap and soup. He’s about to ask where Yumi is when he sees her sleeping in a comfy chair, and it’s an endearing sight. “I slept for quite a bit, huh?”

“Yeah, but I think you needed that,” Felix mutters, pulling away, and Jeongin almost chases his touch. “Yumi and I spent the time playing and Minho joined us for a bit with his cats, too, which Yumi loved even if she was a bit shy. Minho even tried to teach her some magic, which didn’t really work, but it was fun nonetheless.” 

“How nice, I wish I could’ve seen that,” Jeongin sighs before his stomach rumbles and he blushes while Felix laughs. 

“Right, you didn’t have lunch. Minho kept something aside for you, so I’ll get that.” He stands up and runs off before returning with a steaming bowl of food. “Here you go. We’ll have dinner in about an hour or two, so you don’t have to finish this—”

“I will be fine, I’m starving,” Jeongin cuts in before taking a big bite, making Felix laugh again. 

“How could I forget your big appetite? I imagine it’s even bigger because of the amount of energy you need to replenish,” he chuckles, squeezing Jeongin’s shoulder. “So, yeah, eat up.” 

Jeongin doesn’t need to be told twice, and some food in his system does wonders for his condition, strength returning to his muscles and his body becoming warmer again. Nevertheless, Felix tells him that they should probably take another day to rest even if Jeongin feels better, and Jeongin guesses that would be the safe option especially with what Minho told him today, too. Jeongin doesn’t really know how quickly magical energy replenishes after all, it’s difficult to gauge, and despite feeling better, he’s still feeling a bit weak. 

“I am not risking you passing out on me again, so I’m glad you agree that we should stay for another day.” Felix points at him sternly. “But even if you didn’t, I would just force you.” 

Jeongin barks out a laugh and weakly pushes at Felix’s shoulder. Felix wouldn’t have to force him if Jeongin would disagree at first. He’d only have to tell Jeongin that he would want to stay another day and Jeongin would already fold, he’s that weak for Felix.

“Thank you for looking out for me, Lixie,” Jeongin says with a sarcastic tone, though he does mean it. Felix giggles and pulls on Jeongin’s cheek, knowing Jeongin can’t fight back because his hands are full with the bowl of food. 

“Always,” Felix says with a cheeky smile, and Jeongin fails to look offended when his friend is just so… him. Amazing in every way.

Just then, Yumi wakes up and demands some attention, so Felix goes to get her before he sits on the bed again and Yumi looks at Jeongin with her big eyes.

“Hi Yumi~ Did you have a nice nap? I napped too and had some food so I’m feeling great!” he tells her, and she repeats the word ‘food’ in her own one-year-old language. 

“You want some food too? I have a bite left of some food you can digest, do you want some?” Jeongin offers it, glancing at Felix who nods in encouragement, and Yumi happily opens her mouth to clumsily eat the bite. “Yummy, huh? Minho is a really good cook! Do you think he’d be using magic to help? If so, he has to teach me!” 

Felix laughs and ruffles Yumi’s hair before looking at Jeongin. “So you’re saying you don’t want to know his secrets if he’s just cooking regularly?” 

“Yeah, that’s too much work.” Jeongin nods and Felix cackles, shaking his head. 

“Let’s go eat something proper, Yumi, this man is hopeless,” he tells his daughter with a cheeky smile, and Jeongin gasps, but Felix still takes Jeongin’s bowl to bring back to the kitchen and leaves Jeongin with warm, giddy feelings. It’s nice to joke around with his friend and to forget about the cold and this exhaustion that is still lingering under his skin for a bit. 

For dinner, Jeongin thinks he can join them at the dining table, but as soon as he gets out of bed and tries to stand up, he stumbles a bit, his legs almost giving in. Felix is by his side in no time, catching him and pushing him up again with a cute smile. 

“You okay? Or was this simply you being clumsy?” he asks lightheartedly, and Jeongin huffs out a bashful chuckle, unable to stop his cheeks from heating up at their proximity.

“Yeah. I– My legs weren’t expecting to need to do work,” he says, rubbing his neck. “I’m fine, thank you— whoah,” Jeongin stumbles a bit more, flushing at his own clumsiness combined with his shaky legs. “Okay, maybe a little support would be nice.” 

“Of course.” Felix hums with a smile, swinging his arm around Jeongin’s waist and pulling Jeongin’s arm around his shoulder as they walk towards the dining room, Yumi waddling behind them. 

Jeongin’s mouth starts watering as soon as they enter the dining room where Minho is plating their dinner. Gosh, it smells good, and even if Jeongin ate an hour ago already, he is hungry again. 

“It smells great! Do you use any magic when cooking?” Jeongin asks as they sit down, and Minho chuckles. 

“Nope, I just happen to like cooking. Though, I do sometimes use some magic on the plants and herbs I grow in the garden,” he answers, and Jeongin slumps while Felix laughs. Minho tilts his head in confusion before Felix explains that Jeongin had hoped to magically become good at cooking, which makes Minho laugh too. “Unfortunately cooking takes time to learn and get the hang of.” 

“Ugh,” Jeongin groans dramatically, but he can’t stop a smile from creeping up on his face when everyone laughs, even Yumi letting out a giggle. “Either way, thank you for the food, Minho.” 

“No problem at all. Dig in!” Minho says, and Jeongin doesn’t need to be told twice. 

Jeongin inhales the food as Felix would describe it, and he doesn’t even notice that there’s some sauce on his cheek until Felix nudges him with a chuckle and a shake of his head.

“I know Yumi takes after me, but sometimes you’re like her too,” he gently scolds, as if he’s talking to Yumi, and Jeongin blushes as Felix wipes the sauce off his cheek. “Isn’t that right, Yumi? Innie is a bit like you isn’t he? Being a messy eater?” 

Yumi agrees with Felix because of course she would, and Jeongin tries to glare at them but he can’t hold back a happy chuckle, the sight of the love of his life and his wonderful daughter laughing tugging at Jeongin’s heartstrings. 

“Felix, you don’t possess magic, right?” Minho asks suddenly. “And Jeongin and Yumi do?” 

“Yeah, that’s right…” Felix answers slowly, confusion evident in his tone. 

“Hmm. Then why do I feel this… vibe between you three?” Minho wonders out loud, and Jeongin frowns, too. If Felix would have magic, he would have definitely known by now. “Like I can feel Yumi’s magic, and Jeongin’s too, but there’s this underlying haze that’s all the same for you three, and for a moment just now, it got stronger.” 

Felix and Jeongin share a look before Jeongin speaks up. “Are you sure it’s not just me and Yumi? Felix is around us all the time after all.” 

“It did get fainter when Yumi and you were napping and he was with me, but I’m sure it’s coming from him too!” Minho insists, and one of the cats meows in agreement. “I don’t know how to explain it, but there is something… magical between you three?” 

Jeongin’s eyes widen at Minho’s explanation, and it reminds him of what he thought about Seungmin and Hyunjin. Hyunjin doesn’t possess magic either yet there was still this aura around him that Seungmin had as well— Soulmates? Jeongin’s heart stops for a moment before he realizes that soulmates don’t only have to be romantic like with Hyunjin and Seungmin. Yumi is involved, too, according to Minho, and Jeongin thinks he might have felt that as well, so them being non-romantic soulmates is probably the only option. 

Jeongin didn’t even know that soulmate bonds could be between three people, and he definitely has no idea if it’s possible for him and Felix to be platonic or familial with Yumi while being romantic with each other— or if soulmates even are specified by the type of bond to begin with. Jeongin’s head starts to hurt from all the possibilities and his lack of knowledge, and that is if this even means that they’re all soulmates—

“Innie? What are you thinking? Do you know what Minho means?” Felix pulls him out of his thoughts before he gasps. “Wait— Isn’t this what Hyunjin described when he talked about being soulmates with Seungmin? Or…” 

Felix trails off, looking at Jeongin as he waits for him to either clarify or refute what he says, and Jeongin tries to get his voice to work. “I— I think it could be a soulmate bond that Minho is feeling, yes, it– it sounds similar to what I felt between Seungmin and Hyunjin, and… I’ve been feeling something between us and Yumi as well.” 

Felix’s eyes light up, and Jeongin’s heart starts beating faster and faster. “Is– Is there any way we can confirm it, or is it simply a feeling wizards can notice?”

“Uhm… there is a spell that can give you insight on certain bonds by making the bond stronger if it exists, but I don’t know if other wizards can check bonds for other people than themselves aside from feeling it—” Jeongin begins explaining, hoping that Felix won’t ask him how he knows this or if he ever did the spell before, but instead Felix interrupts him with something else. 

“I’m not allowing you to use magic yet, so that is off the table,” he says, grabbing Jeongin’s arm as if he was planning to do the spell right then and there. “Besides… I may be the only one here without magic, but I don’t need magic to know that— that what we have with the three of us is special, whether it’s a soulmate bond or not.”

Jeongin takes in a breath and his heart skips a beat at Felix’s sweet words. Felix asks Yumi too, and she agrees, but Jeongin isn’t sure if she fully understands the question just yet, though maybe she can feel it like Minho and Jeongin can. 

“I… I agree, too,” he whispers, and it earns him a bright, warm smile from Felix. For a moment, Jeongin feels like the luckiest man, having Felix’s love directed at him, whether it’s romantic or not. 

But the moment passes by and they continue their dinner in silence, Jeongin feeling more and more jittery. He doesn’t know why, but he had somehow expected more to come from Felix discovering that they are— or might be soulmates. Yes, Felix said their bond is special and Jeongin agrees, and yes, Felix sent him a lovely smile, but Jeongin can’t help but be selfish and have hoped this could have led to something. Felix probably doesn’t think anything romantic of it since Yumi is involved, and while Jeongin is happy that Yumi seems to be their soulmate, too, he still has to really believe it and see that Yumi trusts him at least half as much as Felix first, even if it’s getting better.

He tries to shake away the feeling, though, and he tries to get back to the mindset that he’s lucky to have Felix no matter what, but it’s easier said than done, especially when he’s still tired and not feeling a hundred percent.

“Innie, do you want to take a bath? I took one with Yumi earlier when you were sleeping,” Felix says as he’s lulling Yumi to sleep. They’ll have to sleep in the same bed again, the one Jeongin was in the whole day, and it’s not a very big bed, but Jeongin doesn’t mind— although, Jeongin is kind of feeling like curling up and overthinking this whole soulmate thing by himself tonight since he hasn’t succeeded changing his mindset yet. 

“Yeah, I’ll take one, that’ll be nice before bed,” Jeongin answers softly, and Felix tells him that Minho can give him some towels. Jeongin hums and leaves to find Minho playing with his cats, but he gladly shows Jeongin the bathroom and where he can find everything.

“So… I don’t mean to pry, but I’m sensing something between you and Felix— not the soulmate thing, but… some unsaid feelings,” Minho says as he hands him some towels and Jeongin blushes.

“Yeah… you’re right. I just– I don’t want to have him worry about anything other than Yumi, you know?” he mutters and Minho hums in understanding. 

“Hmm. That’s a good reason, but if Felix says your bond is special even if you wouldn’t be soulmates, things should turn out fine, no?” he offers, and Jeongin presses his lips together, shrugging even if Minho has a point.

“I guess you’re right… I’ll think about it, thank you,” he tells Minho, who smiles before he leaves Jeongin to have a bath and overthink even more. Minho is probably right that things will be fine, but Jeongin is still tired so he won’t do anything today other than enjoy the bath and sleep for a long time. 

“Ah, you’re back, great, then I can wash up too. How are you feeling?” Felix asks when he notices Jeongin returning. 

“The bath was really nice, and I’m tired, but I feel like I’ll sleep well,” Jeongin answers, and Felix mutters he’s glad and squeezes Jeongin’s arm before heading to the bathroom himself.

Jeongin feels like he could fall asleep as soon as he lies down, but Yumi is already sleeping in the bed while hugging her stuffed doll tightly, so Jeongin just carefully tries to get into bed with her without disturbing her too much, but his balance still isn’t great as he hasn’t recovered fully. 

Jeongin winces when he clumsily stumbles and almost falls on top of Yumi— he manages to save himself, but not without majorly jostling the mattress and blankets. He curses under his breath when Yumi starts moving and whining, and he gently pats her, hoping to soothe her, but she seems to be disoriented and looking for Felix. 

“Shh, Yumi, it’s okay. Lixie is just in the bathroom,” he whispers, caressing her head, but she doesn’t seem to be listening, so Jeongin gently picks her up and hugs her. He’s tired, but he gathers some energy to help Yumi. “He’ll be back soon, everything is alright, sweet Yumi, you can go to sleep.” 

He rocks her in his arms and starts humming a little, remembering that soothed her on the train, and it helps again this time, fortunately, so he turns his humming into soft singing. He closes his eyes as he sways from side to side, and he doesn’t even notice Felix coming in again, only when he finishes a third lullaby and opens his eyes again to make sure that Yumi, who has stilled in his arms, is sleeping soundly, he notices Felix watching them with loving eyes. 

“Now I definitely don’t need any spell anymore to know that we’re all soulmates,” Felix whispers fondly, and Jeongin’s heart grows twice its size. Felix crawls onto the bed too, and gently caresses his daughter’s hair before leaning in to softly kiss Jeongin’s cheek, making the latter blush. “Thank you for taking care of her even if you’re still recovering. What woke her up?” 

“Me getting into bed clumsily,” Jeongin admits sheepishly, and Felix laughs softly, poking Jeongin’s dimple. 

“As expected of my Innie,” he says affectionately, and Jeongin’s heart speeds up at ‘my Innie’ , but he tries to mask his bashfulness by pushing at Felix’s shoulder. “You know I like your clumsy side.” 

Jeongin’s flush deepens, and now he can’t hide it anymore, so he pulls Felix into bed properly. “Come, let's lie down, I’m tired.”

They lie down together with Yumi, Jeongin and Felix facing each other as Yumi peacefully sleeps between them, and Jeongin has the urge to run his fingers through Felix’s hair. He can’t resist it when Felix’s hair falls into his face, so Jeongin raises his hand to brush the strands away, and Felix softens. 

“Are you happy that we’re all soulmates, Jeonginnie?” he asks softly, and Jeongin hums, unable to hold back a smile. 

“I am,” he answers honestly, his cheeks getting warm. “I didn’t really expect me to be connected to Yumi, too, but I’m happy about it.” 

“Me too. I’m really happy to see her growing to like you and to see her feel even more comfortable with you,” Felix agrees, caressing Yumi’s little arm. “I don’t know what I’d do if my daughter wouldn’t even like my best friend, but on the other hand, how can anyone not like you or at least grow to like you?” 

“Pfft– I see it’s time for you to be cheesy tonight?” Jeongin huffs, his cheeks burning under Felix’s sweet gaze as the latter chuckles. 

“You’ve known me for how many years now? It’s to be expected,” he whispers with a smile, his hand finding Jeongin’s arm to caress now. “Especially with the scare we had this morning you can’t blame me.”

Right, that was this morning— it feels much longer ago. Jeongin understands, though, he would’ve been worried out of his mind if what happened to him happened to Felix and he’d be shaken for the whole day as well. 

“I won’t blame you, Lixie, I like your cheesy side,” Jeongin mutters, feeling a sudden exhaustion that takes away his filter, but Felix’s smile is worth it. 

“Good, otherwise we’d have a problem,” Felix jokes, but his voice is one hundred percent fond, and Jeongin curls a bit in on himself as he pulls the blanket over his warm cheeks. “Sorry, you’re probably tired, right? I’ll shut my chatty mouth.” 

“Yes, shut up Lixie,” Jeongin mutters sleepily, and it only makes Felix smile brighter. It makes Jeongin happy. “Good night.” 

Felix laughs softly and Jeongin feels a hand brush over his head, caressing it as Jeongin closes his eyes, already drifting off. The last thing he hears before falling asleep are Felix’s loving words, “Good night, my Innie, sleep well… Love you.” 

Jeongin blinks his eyes open slowly, woken up by Yumi’s squeals coming from another room. It seems like he slept for pretty long again, but he does feel well rested and today is another resting day, so he’s all fine taking things slow. He washes up and joins the rest in the living room to see Yumi and the cats playing with her stuffed toys as Minho and Felix watch.

“Oh! You’re awake as well, let me get breakfast ready.” Minho stands up and disappears into the kitchen as Felix greets him with a big smile, already gushing about how Yumi is so cute playing with the cats. Jeongin wholeheartedly agrees.

The morning passes by like that, relaxed, happy, and Jeongin starts thinking about what Minho told him yesterday about confessing to Felix. On one hand he doesn’t want to disrupt this happy peaceful atmosphere, but on the other hand it’s also a good opportunity, because when else should he do it? He didn’t want to do it because he didn’t want to burden Felix more, but now that he doesn’t seem to be burdened with anything for a moment, Jeongin still hesitates and he curses himself for being such a coward. His moments with Felix yesterday had felt intimate and he feels like that could be a sign that he should confess, but it’s difficult to gather the courage when Jeongin has been pining for so long, he never feels prepared, but he probably never will.

All those thoughts fly out of his head however when he hears some kind of crackling behind him and Yumi exclaiming, “Wawawa!”  

Jeongin whips his head around together with Felix, but before they can do anything, one of the sparks hits Yumi’s hand and she flinches before she starts crying. 

“Shit— Yumi be careful!” Felix picks her up and kisses her hand multiple times. “Oh sweetie, sparks are dangerous, yeah? Fireworks are dangerous, that’s bad, it could’ve gone even worse.”

Yumi just continues crying and Felix looks at Jeongin for help, so Jeongin crouches next to them and caresses her head along with Felix. “I can maybe try to teach her the difference between the illusion and the real sparks, but I don’t know how much she’ll be able to pick up.” 

“Anything is better than nothing— but are you sure you’re up to use magic again? How are you feeling?” Felix asks with a worried frown, and Jeongin huffs. He’s been feeling fine all day, and this magic won’t require a lot of energy, which he tells Felix with an assuring tone as well.

“Okay, fine— thank you, Jeongin, I appreciate it, but you should be careful too, okay?” Felix tells him, and Jeongin can tell that Felix is still struggling with not being able to help Yumi with her magic, but before he can convince that Felix is doing amazing, he— or rather, they have to help Yumi. 

Felix manages to calm her down with relative ease as he usually does with the seemingly infinite amount of love he seems to carry, which is when it’s Jeongin’s turn to help her. 

“Do you think you’ll be able to listen to Jeongin, Yumi? He’s going to help you make sure the sparks won’t hurt you, okay?” Felix tells Yumi after planting a kiss on her rosy cheek, and Yumi says something unintelligible before Felix puts her on his lap facing Jeongin, still holding her. 

“Okay, Yumi, I don’t know how to explain this properly, so just watch me carefully, yeah?” he begins, opening his hand in front of her. “There are two ways to make fireworks, one safe way, and one dangerous way.” 

Jeongin summons an illusion of fireworks, which scares Yumi for a second, but Jeongin keeps his hand at a good distance. Using magic doesn’t hurt him at all, fortunately, but Jeongin thinks he can feel that he still isn’t fully replenished yet. That is fine, he has survived other days of traveling without being fully replenished, but he’s surprised it’s taking this long. He guesses he really had used all of it that night they slept in the cave. 

“This is an illusion. This is safe, look.” 

He waves his free hand through the illusion, and Yumi’s eyes widen as she starts waving as well, and Jeongin brings the illusion closer so she can put her hand through it and hopefully feel the kind of magic he’s using. “Exactly! Now, the second one is the dangerous one, so be careful as I show it.” 

Jeongin retracts his hand as he starts creating crackling sparks above his hand. “This one makes a sound! Can you hear that? The sound means it’s not okay to touch.” Jeongin moves his finger close to the sparks and winces. “Ouchie!” 

Felix snorts and slaps a hand in front of his mouth to stop himself from laughing, and Jeongin shoots him a halfhearted glare before focusing on Yumi again. “So, this one is bad, ouchie. This one—” Jeongin switches to the illusion again, “—is good. Bad. Good. Bad. Good. Can you create the good fireworks?”

Yumi seems to take a second to understand Jeongin, but when he repeats the question and stops his own magic for a moment before creating the illusion again, she copies him and makes an illusion appear, too. 

“That’s right! Well done, Yumi!” Jeongin praises, honestly impressed by her skills. “These are the good and safe fireworks! Can you do it again?”

Jeongin demonstrates it, and Yumi creates sparks by accident, but she waves her arm to get them away from her, sending the sparks right Jeongin’s way, but they’re so small that Jeongin can easily extinguish them before they reach him. “That’s okay, you recognized it well! Let’s try again, yeah?” 

They manage to make Yumi do it two more times before she gets distracted and sick of it, but Jeongin thinks she did really well. He doesn’t remember how he did at this age, but he can’t imagine that he would have done better than Yumi. 

“Great job, Yumi! Do you want to give Jeonginnie a little kiss as thanks?” Felix asks her, and Jeongin chuckles as he leans down into Yumi’s reach. Much to his surprise, Yumi softly presses her face against Jeongin’s cheek, making a tiny ‘mwah’ sound, and Jeongin’s heart melts as Felix coos as well. Yumi has really grown to like him a lot, huh?

“You’re a great student, Yumi! Well done,” Jeongin praises her one last time before Felix picks her up to have some food before it’s time for her to have a nap. 

Minho, who was in his room preparing his bags for them to leave tomorrow, comes out to ask if everything is still going okay and Jeongin tells him about what happened, at which Minho smiles.

“Hmm. So everything is all good. Great, I’ll continue to pack and I’ll hear it if you need me.” He disappears again and leaves Jeongin alone with his thoughts about Felix for a bit, but again it’s not nearly enough time to come to a conclusion on what to do regarding his feelings before Felix returns.

“She fell asleep almost immediately, I guess the magic tired her out,” Felix says before joining Jeongin, sitting down on the carpet and petting one of the cats as they walk by. “And thanks to you, both her and I can be at ease knowing that she can learn how to keep herself safe and you and I don’t have to keep her in sight every second of the day.” 

“It’s no problem. I like helping Yumi, she’s a great learner, and as a bonus this prepares me even more to teach other kids when we get to the school,” Jeongin answers with an abashed smile. “But even if it didn’t, I’d gladly help of course.” 

“Ugh, what would I do without you, Innie?” Felix sighs, giving him a side hug and tucking his face on Jeongin’s shoulder, and Jeongin thinks this is the right time to try to give his friend some extra confidence.
“You’d still be an amazing father, Lixie,” Jeongin tells him sincerely, turning to face Felix as much as he can in the hug, but Felix loosens his grip on Jeongin to look at him with widened, touched eyes as well. “Sure, I may make things a bit easier, but that doesn’t make you any less of a good father even if you didn’t have me. You do everything you can for her and more, and I really admire you for that. And while I’m glad I can help, I know for sure that you’d do amazing on your own as well.” 

“Jeonginnie…” Felix trails off, his voice full of emotion as his eyes glimmer with the same emotions. “I— I don’t know what to say, you’re being so sweet…”

Jeongin softens and cups Felix’s jaw with one hand, and Felix leans into the touch as Jeongin brushes his fingers over his freckles. “You don’t have to say anything, I just want you to know and believe how amazing you are, as a father and a person, as a friend—” 

Jeongin is cut off by Felix surging forward to capture his lips into a searing kiss, and his eyes widen as Felix cups his neck and kisses him like he means it, but Jeongin soon just melts into it, as if Felix’s lips on his are magic, relieving Jeongin’s body and mind of all troubles. 

Just as Jeongin’s hands want to find purchase somewhere, hold Felix’s waist or his shoulders with his free hand, Felix lets go and pulls back with a gasp, as if he realized something. 

“Oh gosh— I’m sorry, I just pushed myself onto you—” Felix stammers, but Jeongin won’t let Felix blame himself, he won’t let Felix get insecure again, so he cups Felix’s jaw properly and pulls him back into another brief kiss.

“I love you, Felix,” he mutters against Felix’s lips almost desperately, throwing away all shame and doubt as he tries to convey everything he feels in just these three small words, and he’s rewarded by Felix grabbing onto his shirt and kissing him as if his life depends on it, trying to pull Jeongin as close as is physically possible. 

Jeongin hums in pleasure as he tries to keep up with Felix’s lips, heat spreading through his veins as they kiss and kiss and kiss, Jeongin clumsily trying to convey all the feelings he accumulated over the past years and couldn’t put in his words, and all he can do is believe that Felix feels the same with the way Felix’s lips on his make him feel so, so loved. 

“I love you too, Jeongin,” Felix breathes between kisses before diving in again for more, and Jeongin feels like he’ll burst with love and warmth even more now. Jeongin tangles his fingers into Felix locks as he tries to let out everything feels, but it’s never enough, so they keep going, parting for breath before closing the gap again and again and again, unable to get enough of each other. 

“So… either you guys did lie to me about being friends or you’re making out platonically right now.” Minho’s voice sounds and Jeongin and Felix simultaneously shoot back, Jeongin falling over as his heart tries to pound out of his chest while Felix curses under his breath in shock. 

“Uhm— we didn’t lie, this was a– a recent development,” Felix explains, and Minho laughs, making them both blush. 

“I’m kidding, I assumed so. Congratulations,” he tells them casually, and Jeongin snorts, feeling like his head will melt with how hot it is. “Either way, I’m done packing and I’m getting kinda hungry so I’ll slowly get started on dinner if that’s okay with you, too.” 

“Right– It’s about time to feed Yumi and check on her— and yeah that’s okay,” Felix says before scrambling up. He shares a look with Jeongin and reaches out with his small hand, wordlessly asking him to come with, and Jeongin gladly accepts. He’s feeling jittery and a bit shaky on his legs from what just happened, and he wants to talk about it to Felix soon, but Yumi is first priority.

She seems to have just woken up, because she’s trying to climb out of the bed but she’s struggling to figure out the right way of doing it. Before Felix can even get to her, she falls out and she starts crying, but she stops as soon as Felix is by her side and has picked her up, hugging her. 

“Be careful, sweetie.” He kisses her cheek and Jeongin ruffles her hair. “Did you have a nice nap? Are you hungry?” 

“Eh!” Yumi says, meaning yes, and Jeongin chuckles before doing a little sprint ahead to get her food ready and warmed up with some magic. 

“Thank you, Innie,” Felix says as he accepts the food and feeds a bite to Yumi as they sit down. “Did you warm it with magic? You didn’t have to, or I could’ve asked Minho. You should still be careful.”

“I’m fine, Lixie, it didn’t require too much energy,” he assures, caressing Felix’s shoulder. With anyone else he wouldn’t like being told to be careful all the time, but he knows that Felix means well. He never minds if it’s Felix, he even kind of likes the concern and protectiveness. “I think even with this, I might be fully replenished after a good sleep.”

“Okay, if you say so, but I’m keeping an eye on you,” Felix pouts, and Jeongin chuckles, flashing an innocent smile that has Felix threateningly (cutely) waving Yumi’s food around. Yumi whines and tries to grab her food and Felix laughs before apologizing and continuing to feed her. 

Jeongin can’t really do anything but watch, so he just awkwardly sits there wondering if he should bring up their kiss of love confessions. 

“I can hear you thinking from here, Innie. Is– Is it about what just happened?” Felix asks as he finishes feeding Yumi and wipes her mouth with a tissue, and Jeongin smiles at the way Felix knows him so well.

“Yeah, I just— I still need to process it, I think,” he admits softly, rubbing his warm neck. “Because I– I meant what I said.” 

“Me too— I meant it too,” Felix tells him, and Jeongin flushes, his heart making a fuss as Felix’s hand finds his and they intertwine their fingers. He already kind of knew that Felix meant it — how could he not when Felix kissed him like that? — but hearing it again has him experience what he felt all over again. “You being so sweet made all of my feelings spill out. I was already on the verge of kissing you when you gave me that necklace, but this was the last drop.”  

Jeongin can’t stop smiling and feeling warm, and he wonders if Yumi understands what’s going on. “I had been wanting to confess as well, but I kept overthinking. I’m glad you just made the move and kissed me.” 

“I had been having a lot of doubts as well, but together with the soulmate thing and seeing how Yumi and you have grown on each other I knew for sure that I wanted to confess,” Felix whispers, brushing his thumb over the back of Jeongin’s hand. 

“I’m happy you trust me with her,” Jeongin mutters, using his free hand to caress Yumi’s head. 

“I already did. I just wanted to know for sure that Yumi would love you to be part of… us as well,” Felix explains, leaning in to kiss Jeongin’s cheek and lingering close. “Do you want that, too?” 

"I've wanted it ever since Yumi was born," Jeongin admits in a low voice, and Felix softens, his expression going from shocked to loving before he pecks Jeongin's lips. 

"I couldn't have asked for anyone better." Felix leans his forehead against Jeongin's, and Jeongin still can't believe his feelings are returned like this, with Felix having his heart soaring at every sweet word he utters and every loving gaze he sends. He is really the luckiest man.

They sit there with Yumi for a while more, basking in this new development, and it seems like Yumi can feel it too, because she happily babbles while playing with Felix and Jeongin’s free hands, connecting the three of them literally and figuratively. As soulmates.

Soon enough, Minho announces that dinner is ready, and they talk about what they imagine for tomorrow. Minho knows the way to town, thankfully, so they should be all good even if it’s still quite a walk. Jeongin is nervous yet excited, and he's happy that Felix kissed him today, because he's sure that starting tomorrow they'll be busy with a lot of things again, which is fine but it won't leave them with much time for each other. 

That's why Jeongin pulls Felix into a kiss as soon as Yumi is sleeping, and Felix hums appreciatively, swinging his arms around Jeongin's middle. 

"Hmm, I like this," Felix mutters against his lips with a smile, swaying a little.  

"I wanted to make the most of this last night of rest before it gets busy again," Jeongin whispers, and Felix’s smile widens, massaging Jeongin’s sides as Jeongin brushes his fingers over Felix's jaw. "So we don't have any unsaid feelings or questions." 

"Good idea," Felix agrees as Jeongin admires the necklace and Felix smiles proudly when he notices. "So… I can call you my boyfriend?" 

"I'd like that," Jeongin tells him with a kiss before he chuckles bashfully. "Sorry, it still needs to really settle in that you feel the same." 

"Yeah? Why?" Felix asks, his hand trailing up to squeeze Jeongin's shoulder. 

Jeongin flicks his eyes away as he blushes. "Well… It’s not like you aren't showing your feelings— not at all, you're making me feel very loved— but I just had been pining for so long, it's difficult to get used to something different after so long." 

"For how long have you been pining, then?" Felix runs his thumb along Jeongin's neck as he looks at him with curious eyes. 

"Uhm, about five years," Jeongin answers softly, and Felix gasps. 

" Five?! " he exclaims before slapping a hand in front of his mouth and eyeing Yumi, who's still sleeping soundly. "I mean okay we've been friends for even longer, almost twice that, but still— wow." 

"Yeah, I've been a coward for that long," Jeongin chuckles sheepishly and Felix huffs, softening. "Since when have you felt this way?" 

"Since about two years, when the whole thing with Mayeon’s pregnancy went down," Felix replies, his cheeks coming to match Jeongin's in color. "It was quite something having the realization of my feelings for you between everything else, but yeah, I just decided to cherish them and keep it in the back of my mind until things would settle down a little bit, and now we're two years along." 

"It's been quite a hectic time, huh?" Jeongin comments, and Felix agrees as Jeongin plays with the hairs on Felix’s neck. "There's still a lot to come, but we're more experienced now, we'll get some help, and we won't have to hold back any feelings anymore." 

"Well said." Felix closes the gap between them again, and Jeongin melts. Felix’s lips really are magic. "Enough talking now." 

Jeongin chuckles and can’t stop smiling into the kiss, and it only gets worse when Felix whines and pouts at him for ‘ruining’ their kiss, but he soon joins Jeongin in his giggling fit when Jeongin manages to stumble over his own feet. Jeongin feels all giddy and happy as they embrace each other and laugh, and it gets even more when Felix starts smothering his face in kisses. 

“Ack– It tickles, Lixie!” Jeongin squeaks, grabbing Felix’s face to return the favor and press a kiss on every freckle of his face. “There, payback.” 

Felix huffs, his cheeks glowing red as he shakes his head and snakes his arms around Jeongin’s shoulders, kissing him lovingly again. “Is it really payback if I enjoy it?”

Jeongin can’t argue with that, so he doesn’t and he just returns the kiss, relaxing as he holds Felix’s middle. Now that his heart has calmed down a little and he’s gotten used to Felix’s love and affection in this new way more too, he can fully indulge in kissing him, even if his stomach flips and flops and his legs feel like jelly when Felix deepens the kiss. It’s the best way to end this last day of rest, kissing Felix until his lips are numb and he becomes ticklish from Felix’s gentle touches everywhere, and he wouldn’t mind if every night would be like this. 

They soon head to bed after washing up and double checking everything for tomorrow, and even there Felix can’t stop cuddling and kissing him. Jeongin loves it, it’s a nice and warm way to fall asleep, especially with Yumi in the middle. Jeongin is definitely excited for what’s about to come with this development, and while he already believed that they can overcome anything together after what happened in the cave, he now knows it even more, so he isn’t worried about things getting more busy and not really knowing what is to come, and with that thought, he drifts off to sleep.

The snow is melting as they’re on their way, and Jeongin enjoys the winter sun warming them up a little in the cold. Minho is helping carry part of their bags with his magic even if Jeongin said he could handle it, but he does appreciate the lighter load, and he guesses it’s fair to lift about half each. Minho also shows them the map and their route, and Jeongin still doesn’t understand how they had gotten lost the other day, but it’s fine, it all turned out fine so he doesn’t fret over it anymore.

Felix and he hold hands as they walk (Felix insisted on doing so even if he’s also carrying Yumi most of the time since she can’t walk for too long yet), and it’s just… nice. Jeongin usually looks forward to arriving at their stop for the night, but now the walk isn’t too bad either. That doesn’t mean he’s not giddy to see his friends again and finally get there to help them with all the kids, though. 

Yumi seems to be excited as well, because she’s using her magic a lot: throwing leftover snow around, making fireworks (and accidentally sending sparks right into Felix’s face when she got scared of the sound, but all Felix needed was a kiss from her and Jeongin to make it better), and warming her hands when she’s cold. It does get her exhausted quickly, but it’s not like she will have her first lesson today or even tomorrow, so as long as she’s not pushing herself, it’s good that she’s experimenting. 

Yumi is still sleeping when they finally arrive in town, and Jeongin’s friends, Jisung, Changbin, and Chan, are waiting for them at the gate (Minho said he’d send a signal to announce they were coming a while ago). Being the affectionate wizards they are, Jeongin is greeted with a big hug which Jeongin pretends to be disgusted by before he’s asked to introduce the rest.

“This is Minho, a wizard who lives in the forest nearby. He rescued us when we got lost and said he wanted to go with us here,” Jeongin begins as Minho waves. “And this is Felix, my best friend and– uh, boyfriend, and Yumi, his daughter, who is a witch.”

“She’s tired from using a lot of magic on the way here,” Felix explains why Yumi is still sleeping. “But it’s nice to meet you. I think it’s really amazing that you’re gathering witches and wizards to help kids with magic.” 

“Thanks! We’re very happy to have you all help us,” Changbin tells them with an excited smile. “But first, let’s get you settled! We have space for most of the wizards and witches who come to help us, and any friends slash boyfriends and children are free to stay too.” 

Changbin gives them a wink, making Jeongin blush, before they lead them to the school building as they explain how they renovated it and made room upstairs for witches and wizards to stay. It looks pretty nice, and Jeongin thinks they can easily stay here until they’ve decided their next move. 

They separate from Minho for a bit as they put their bags in the room, and Yumi finally wakes up when they head back down and reconvene with Minho to have Jeongin’s friends give them a tour and tell them some more about the school and their plans. She’s a little disoriented and fussy for a while after she wakes up, but she soon calms down in Felix’s arms and with Jeongin soothing her too. 

Apparently they’re already teaching some kids at the school, but they’re still starting up officially and working on getting more funding to pay everyone who helps properly. Jeongin wouldn’t mind volunteering the first while because they’re getting a place to stay as well as that Jeongin simply loves helping kids, but Chan insists on paying, so he won’t complain. 

“For Yumi specifically, I think it’d be good to ease her into things because she’s still so young,” Jisung offers, and Jeongin nods in agreement. “I think it’d be good to first let her get used to the environment and people working here, and then, depending on how much help she needs, maybe even simply start with only Jeongin teaching her.” 

“Sounds like a good plan. She trusts Jeongin a lot, but I’ll certainly be there for the first few weeks as well,” Felix agrees, and Yumi lets out a sound of approval as well. “That’s right, sweetie, here you can learn all about magic!” 

“Aji!” Yumi says before summoning some fireworks, making everyone laugh and clap for Yumi’s little show of her skills. 

“That’s amazing! She’s pretty skilled for her age,” Chan comments, and Felix ruffles her hair proudly.

“She’s a curious one, yeah, and she’s had good guidance.” He cocks his head towards Jeongin who shrugs, rubbing his warm neck. “I’d trust her with Jeongin alone, but like this she can make friends and Jeongin can do what he loves even when Yumi doesn’t need help.” 

Jeongin can’t help but blush and peck Felix’s cheek to get some of his feelings out, and they talk some more before having dinner with all of them. It still has to sink in that they’re here and their trip is over, yet the new chapter in their lives is only starting now, with Jeongin and Felix getting together and Yumi starting to learn how to control her magic. 

And indeed the coming days are busy, with Yumi getting used to the new people and environment and getting a bit more independent from Felix step by step, and Jeongin getting familiar with the way things work at the school, but Jeongin and Felix still have some (romantic) time for each other in the evenings or whenever they’re playing with Yumi. Yumi seems to enjoy her time here as she gets used to it, and Jeongin feels the same, it’s really like a dream getting to work with kids and teaching them magic. He never really had an attachment to the town they lived in, so he wouldn’t mind moving here permanently, but he isn’t sure about Felix. 

“Yumi is adapting well here, huh?” Felix comments one evening about two weeks after they arrived here. “She’s still shy around the other kids and she struggles a bit not seeing me for longer periods of time, but I think that’s mostly because of all the new things and because most kids are older than she is.” 

“Yeah, I think so too, but all the kids are really cute and nice, so I think she’ll warm up to them and not even notice that you’re away eventually.” Jeongin leans back on the bed and Felix melts in his arms as they cuddle. “And what about you? I’m having a good time here, Yumi is as well, but you only came here for her, so how are you feeling?”
“I’m honestly loving it here, too! Your friends and Minho are super nice, and I’m fine playing the housewife for a bit until Yumi is more independent,” he replies cheekily, and Jeongin chuckles. 

“Would you want to move here permanently?” he asks, and Felix’s eyes widen. “We could find a place here for the three of us, you could find something to do that you like as well… But only if you want, we could go back at some point as well.” 

Felix hums in thought as he huddles closer. “I guess where we lived all of the people around our age have already left… The people here are nice, the town is nice, it’s handy to be close to Yumi’s school and your work, there are good human schools here for her too, I think, and I imagine that you want to stay here… So, yeah, maybe we could move here permanently.” 

Jeongin smiles and kisses Felix’s cheek. “I’m happy you feel the same. There’s no rush, though, and I can do a lot of the work by teleporting back and forth, so you don’t have to worry much.” 

“You’re really the best, Innie,” Felix mutters, turning around in his arms to cup Jeongin’s jaw and kiss him lovingly. “Especially if it means being able to stay with you, I’m all for moving here.” 

“I love you, Lixie,” Jeongin mutters against Felix’s lips, feeling excited yet nervous to make this decision, but as they saw during their trip here, as long as he’s with Felix and Yumi, he knows things will be fine. 

“I love you, too, Jeongin.”

“Okay, okay, everyone gather around, Felix should be here in a minute with the cake,” Jeongin tells the kids as Yumi waves them over too, saying ‘here, here!’, and Jeongin turns around to see if Felix is already there. “Ah! Mayeon, you made it! And you brought Felix!”

“I stumbled upon him on the way,” she says as she greets Jeongin and the rest. “And I know I wasn’t there for her first birthday, but now that I’ve done a lot of what I wanted in terms of traveling and learning about magic, I knew I couldn’t miss her second— especially after learning she’s a witch too.” 

Jeongin thinks it’s nice that she came, but even if he knows that she never wanted kids and he and Felix have only grown closer over the past months, he’s nervous about what will happen, how Yumi will react and so on. 

“Here is the cake!” Felix announces as he puts it down in front of Yumi, softly telling her to be patient when she reaches out to the cake. “Freshly baked from the Sunshine bakery~” 

The kids cheer, always loving when Felix brings over baked goods from the bakery that he started a while ago. Minho has been helping there whenever he has time, too, and it meant that Jeongin spends a lot more time with Yumi, but they eased her into it, and by now Yumi is almost as attached to him as she is to Felix. She still has a soft spot for Felix, but how can Jeongin blame her when he has a huge soft spot for Felix too? 

“Do you want to light the candles, Yumi?” Jeongin asks her as Felix comes to sit next to him. “You can use sparks! But still be careful, yeah?” 

Yumi nods and stretches out her little arm to summon some sparks above the two candles on the cake, happily exclaiming when she succeeds in lighting them, and everyone claps for her. 

“Great! Now let’s all sing…” Jeongin tells the kids, looking at each one of them before he starts singing, Felix’s hand finding his and intertwining their fingers. “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Yumi, happy birthday to you!” 

The kids are all out of sync and some can’t talk well enough yet to properly sing along, but it’s all good because Yumi is absolutely delighted with all the attention. Felix tells her she can blow out the candles next, which she does both by blowing and letting a gust of wind blow past, startling everyone, but they soon cheer and clap again. 

“Wow, she’s really a witch prodigy!” Mayeon comments as she claps. “Although, I guess I’ve learned that these spells aren’t too hard, but they took me years!”

“Yumi loves using magic and learning new things, and she has many people who can teach her,” Felix says, looking fondly at his daughter as she creates fireworks while chanting ‘fiyawa’. 

“I’m glad that she gets this opportunity,” Mayeon says. “She’s really grown so much, I’m happy to see her again.” 

“Do you want to talk to her? She’s a bit shy with strangers, but also very friendly,” Felix offers, and Mayeon’s eyes widen. 

“She got that from you then, but okay, I’ll try after everyone has had some cake,” she chuckles. 

They all divide the cake, and Changbin, Chan, and Jisung offer to watch the kids for a bit so that Jeongin and Felix can catch up with Mayeon. Mayeon tells them about her travels and how she’s planning to keep traveling until she gets sick of it or until Yumi’s next birthday, and Jeongin and Felix tell her a bit about what they’ve been doing and how Yumi has been growing.

“It’s really been a while since we’ve seen each other, but it seems like everyone is now doing something they love, including Yumi,” she says, looking at Yumi, and Jeongin hums in agreement. 

“Yep, I have Yumi, I’m doing the bakery, and I’m doing Jeongin!” Felix jokes, and Jeongin almost chokes on his cake, just like Mayeon snorts. 

“Wait— you finally got together?” she asks, and Jeongin flushes even more at how casual she is about it. 

“ Finally? ” he stammers, and she laughs, shaking her head.

“I saw the way you two were around Yumi’s birth and when we were deciding who would take care of her,” she explains. “How long did it actually take for you two to get together?” 

“We got together a day before we arrived here,” Felix tells her with a sheepish smile. “We both wanted to wait until we were used to taking care of Yumi before talking about our feelings.” 

“Fair— ah, there she comes.” 

“Ada! Imie!” Jeongin and Felix turn around to see Yumi running up to them to show off a gift she got, and they crouch down to see her new plushie. 

“How cute!” Felix says, ruffling her hair. “Also, Yumi, there is someone here who came from pretty far to be there for your birthday. Do you remember Mayeon?”

Mayeon crouches down to wave at her as well, but Yumi seems a bit confused. “It’s okay if you don’t remember. I’m Mayeon. Hi.” 

Yumi is a bit shy, keeping close to Felix and Jeongin, but after a soft encouragement, she says ‘hi’ too. 

“Yes, hi.” Mayeon smiles. “Did you know, Yumi, that I actually birthed you? But that doesn’t matter, because Jeongin and Felix are taking very good care of you, right? They are your parents.” 

Yumi listens with wide curious eyes, smiling at the mention of Felix and Jeongin, and Jeongin feels warm at Mayeon’s words. Mayeon seems to be happy with Yumi’s reaction as well. 

“You love Felix and Jeongin a lot, don’t you?” she asks, and Yumi nods happily turning around to throw herself onto them into a hug. “Ah, ever so affectionate, just like her dad.” 

Felix laughs and kisses Yumi’s cheek, and Jeongin follows before she returns the gesture when Felix asks, and any and all minor doubts Jeongin might have had a moment ago disappear just like that. It seems like all Mayeon needs is to know that Yumi is taken care of and happy. 

Soon Yumi wants to play more, so they let her go, and the day seems to pass by in a blink. Mayeon plays with Yumi for a bit too, but eventually Yumi gets tired of everything and the kids have to go home, so now Yumi is nodding off in Felix’s arms as they say goodbye to Mayeon. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” Felix asks, and Mayeon waves him off.

“I’d love to stay more, but I had agreed to stay with a friend two towns over, so maybe next time,” she says. “I did have a nice time, and I’m really happy to see that Yumi has these two amazing parents and she’s growing up to be such a cool girl, so I have nothing to worry about.”

“Thank you for coming over, Mayeon, we all loved seeing you again. I hope you have a safe trip,” Felix tells her as he leans against Jeongin, and Jeongin agrees. Yumi briefly wakes up because of the talking, so she says bye too, and she exclaims happily when Mayeon waves before she jumps up and flies off. “Oh damn! I didn’t know she could fly.”
“It seems like she learned a lot during her travels, because I have no idea how to do that without wasting a lot of energy,” Jeongin chuckles. “Maybe she can teach Yumi and me next time!” 

Felix laughs and hugs Yumi closer. “I’m sure Yumi would love that.” 

They head back inside to help clean up, but Chan shoos them away and tells them to continue celebrating at home, and while Felix puts up a bit of a fight, Jeongin easily accepts the offer and they eventually head to their home— their new home which they moved into about a month ago. That is still an ongoing project as well, but Jeongin doesn’t mind the slow process. A bed, working plumbing, and a roof above his head is all he needs together with Felix and Yumi. And besides, Yumi’s room and the living room are decorated with all of her plushies and toys and now her gifts too. 

They spoil Yumi for the rest of the day, and Jeongin couldn’t be happier. Yes, some days she’s difficult and things still sometimes go wrong with her magic, but she’s learning, and the good days make up for it by far, especially because he has Felix on his side. They work together like an oiled machine, Felix doing the things Jeongin doesn’t enjoy like changing her diaper whenever he can, and Jeongin singing her to sleep, but they’re also flexible and try to do a little more whenever the other is tired or ask the other to help if they need it. 

And as Jeongin sings Yumi to sleep that night and Felix pulls him into a hug after giving her a good night kiss, whispering that he wants to stay by her side for just a minute longer, Jeongin remembers the night they discovered that Yumi was a witch. That night, they stayed with her because Felix was worried and didn’t know what to do, but tonight, they stay because they’re happy with where they are, and Jeongin knows that Yumi loves him just as much as she loves Felix, just as much as Jeongin loves Felix, and just as much as Jeongin loves her. 

Tonight, Jeongin feels their soulmate bond stronger than ever, and he knows that it’ll only continue to grow. 

The end.