Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jimin's lilac robes swish around him as he sweeps the floor of his little magic shop, the movement sending a pleasant breeze along his legs.

With how summer is quickly fading it's not exactly hot anymore, but Jimin is still working up a sweat with how diligently he's sweeping, and he makes sure to create extra movement of his robes to further cool himself down as he goes, cheerfully humming to himself while expertly evading the many plants hanging across the space.

The shop is rather crowded, with plants standing and hanging everywhere, books filling up multiple huge bookcases to the brim, and the rest of the available space filled up by a huge variety of products to sell and a colourful collection of cute knick-knacks that he has accrued throughout the years, but it's his, and Jimin couldn't love his shop more.

That's why he's sweeping the place by hand in the first place: he could of course easily enchant his broom to sweep by itself, but it feels right to personally put effort into making the place tidy again after a week of business. He knows the shop isn't sentient, of course it isn't, but the plants and some other objects in it are, and by cleaning and caring for them carefully by hand it feels like Jimin is infusing them with his love.

Plus, if he's honest with himself, he can really use the exercise with how often he relies on magic to get things done instead of putting in muscle power.

It's Saturday, meaning he closed the shop in the late morning and has the rest of the day off, and Jimin is already fantasising about finding a nice place in the garden as soon as he finishes cleaning to enjoy the last warmth of the sun before autumn truly kicks in. He still has to add the new spells and potions he has worked on this week to his personal Book of Spells, and he can't think of a better place to do that than in the afternoon sun.

Who knows, maybe he'll even find the time to read an actual book for a change, that would be nice too. He still has that one book about a man unknowingly falling in love with a werewolf that he has been excited to start on; getting into that undoubtedly thrilling love story sounds like a perfect way to spend the afternoon.

Jimin does love to get his fill of romance, even if it's fictional and involves other characters than himself more often than not.

So caught up in his musings, Jimin only registers that the bell attached to the shop entrance jingled by the time he already hears footsteps approaching, and he quickly yells out before even turning around: "I'm sorry, we're closed!"

He purposely hadn't locked the front door yet so he could throw out the dust he'd collect from sweeping before doing so, and he quickly comes to regret that when before he even had the chance to turn towards the person who entered the shop there's a gravelly, deep and clearly angry voice growling: "I don't care. Fix it!"

Heart rate already picking up in sudden nerves, Jimin turns around to find a man of about his age and height, his mint-colour hair contrasting starkly to his all-black outfit, who's striding over to him with big steps, a menacing scowl on his face.

"Uhm," Jimin tries, trying to stifle the urge to take a step back or better yet, go hide somewhere, "excuse me?"

"I said," the man snarls in response, making Jimin take a step back anyway with how close he suddenly is, practically leaning over him, "fix it. You did this, which means you're the one who can turn him back to normal. Now."

The thing is: Jimin has never seen this man before – he would have definitely remembered him, in angered state or not – so he really has no idea what he's talking about, making him stutter out a confused: "I, uhm, I don't –"

"Look, did you or did you not sell a potion to a guy that could make his rabbit communicate with him about what it needed and wanted?"

The memory comes to mind of a cheerful guy with a wild mop of brown curls on his head and a disarming boyish grin who came into the shop a week or two ago, indeed asking whether Jimin could create a way for his rabbit to be able to communicate its needs with him.

Apparently, the old, partially blind animal had been acting uncharacteristically down, and the doctor hadn't been able to find any physical explanation. Jimin's client – Kim Tae-something? – had therefore concluded that the reason for his rabbit's sudden lacklustre attitude had to be psychological, and had begged Jimin to create a potion to enable the animal to talk to him to share its needs, if only for a few minutes.

Jimin, like the helpful witch that he is, had done his best, and had created a potion that should do just that: it would give the rabbit the ability to speak its mind about its needs and wishes for what Jimin estimated to be a day or so if the whole bottle would be used, although Jimin had advised to just start with a few drops and go from there.

He has no idea how that seemingly innocent potion could lead to such anger in the man before him but it clearly did, so Jimin is already wincing, leaning back a bit from the man as he hesitantly says: "Uh, I did?"

"Right," the man directly replies, eyes narrowing further as if he feels free to allow his rage to run more freely with this confirmation, "which means that you're the person who's supposed to fix this fucking mess, aren't you? I don't care how you do it, but I swear to god that if Jungkook doesn't stop following me around and blabbering on and on about how he needs to climb Namjoon like a tree and wants to have a bigger stomach so he can eat more ramen because it's not fair that he can only eat three packages at a time before getting the urge to throw up and needs attention, hyung, needs it, right now, then I might just fucking throttle that kid soon, and I'd rather not go to jail for murder."

The man sharply sucks in a breath of air after that monologue, and Jimin can only stare at him with wide eyes, completely stunned.

Those things did not sound like the needs and wishes of a rabbit. And Jimin has never heard anyone refer to a rabbit as 'that kid'.

It therefore almost feels dumb to ask, but Jimin still needs to confirm: "That, uh, that Jungkook you speak of is… is the rabbit, I hope?"

Jimin watches on as the man casts his eyes up to the sky as if to ask for divine help to not lose it completely, scrunching his nose as his anger seems to somehow intensify further.

"No, Jungkook is not a fucking rabbit, although I'm starting to fucking wish he was so I could put him in a cage, leave him in a room far away from me and be done with it. But no, apparently my one roommate was idiotic enough to go to a witch of all things to get his absolute menace of a rabbit to talk to him, which is already such a fucking bad idea, but my other roommate proved he could easily trump that by deciding that the potion Tae had left on the kitchen counter looked like a tasty alcoholic beverage and proceeding to down the whole thing in one go. Which means that I'm now stuck with a fully grown man sticking to my side all day while he tells me all his deepest, most twisted, horrifying desires and needs, and I wasn't lying when I said I'm about to off either myself or him if this continues any longer."

Directing his intense glare at Jimin again, he concludes: "So that's why you're going to close this shop, follow me home where my friend is babysitting Jungkook and hopefully not getting sexually assaulted in the process, and undo this nonsense, right now. Is that clear? As I said, I don't care how -"

Jimin can't help himself, he blurts out before thinking it through: "I can't."

"You can't?"

The man sounds so close to snapping that Jimin puts on his very best innocent, apologetic expression, already fearing the man's reaction, as he meekly explains: "Yeah, I'm really, really sorry, but the potion wears off by itself, which should be in…"

Jimin breaks off to quickly calculate. The full potion would last around a day for the rabbit; a rabbit's heart rate is about three times as high as one of a human, which would make it three days for a human.

He has a very strong feeling that three days is not what the man wants to hear, and he therefore almost doesn’t dare to say it, making himself small and taking a small step back as he squeaks: "About three days?"

As expected, the man seems about to bite his head off as he practically yells back a "Three days?" and Jimin is very seriously considering just making a run for it, his heart racing faster and faster in fear, as he rambles: "Well, y-you see, making the potion itself took me f-five days, so making an antidote would take about the s-same amount of time; I'm really sorry but it wasn't a potion made for a human, I gave clear instructions, and –"

It happens fast.

Jimin sees the man's expression somehow turn even more menacing, he acutely remembers how there were actual threats against someone's life being made just now, and then the man takes one step forward as if to grab or push or hurt Jimin, and Jimin can't help it: he acts instinctively.

There's a panicked internal plea of mint-haired man should be stopped from hurting me, his hands come up to protect himself, and then there's a blinding flash of light, Jimin automatically squeezing his eyes shut, followed by… silence. Blessed silence.

Which shouldn't be possible with an angry man in the shop who very much seemed about to curse and yell some more, or worse, and Jimin hesitantly opens one eye, then the other, to confirm what he already feared: the man has disappeared.

And in his place is a tiny, adorable little mint-coloured frog.

Oops.

For a moment nothing happens, Jimin staring down at the frog while the frog stays completely still, staring into space with big eyes. Then, it moves its tiny head, though, first looking down, rearing back a bit at the sight of its little froggy legs, then up to the rest of the room, gaze finding Jimin's.

And Jimin can't help himself: he huffs, putting his hands on his sides.

"Well, it's not like you didn't deserve it. I don't know if you even noticed in your anger, but you were really rude and mean and aggressive, all while it's not even my fault that your roommate drank something that clearly wasn't meant for him and apparently had needs and desires you didn't want to hear! It's really not okay, you know, to harass innocent strangers like that! Did your parents not raise you right? Do you think it's okay to just go around yelling at people and scaring them, and even threatening murder?"

It feels good to let it all out: all the feelings and thoughts Jimin hadn't dared or even gotten the chance to share before, and he feels properly fired up by the time he concludes: "I say you had this coming. So maybe use your time as a frog to reflect on yourself and your actions, huh? You could surely use a change in attitude: I'm surprised you even have roommates with how foul-spirited you are. People don't like getting yelled at, you know!"

By now, the frog's gaze has dropped down to its own legs again, carefully lifting one of its front legs up and holding it out in front of itself to stare at its webbed fingers before just as carefully lowering it down again. And then, to Jimin's surprise, it jumps.

Not in any particular direction, just up, and while it lands somewhat clumsily, it actually looks proud of itself, a content expression on its tiny face.

"Hey!" Jimin can't help but clarify, "Reflect, I said, not play!"

The frog doesn't seem to pay his words any heed, just jumping up again before almost smiling, and Jimin has had enough.

"You know what? If you want to play that badly you can go and play in the pond like a proper frog while I read. And you better be less ill-humoured once you turn back or you can spend the night as a frog, too!"

The thing with uncontrolled magic is that Jimin has no idea how long the stranger will actually be a frog for: could be half an hour, could be half a day. Jimin was pretty agitated when he cast the spell, so he reckons it will probably be closer to the latter than the former.

And yeah, he could turn the man back at any moment, but where's the fun in that? This guy made his bed by picking a fight with a witch: now he'll just have to lie in it. Or lie in a pond actually, because no way Jimin would let the slimy little creature close to his bed.

It's a bit of fuss to gather his tea, book and the frog and get them all safely to the garden but Jimin manages, and he actually feels pretty accomplished as he sits down on his lazy chair in the sun, close to the pond where he put the frog on a big lily leaf so he can keep an eye on it.

He long ago promised to himself not to let people walk all over him anymore after always having had the tendency to be too kind and forgiving, and he did well today.

Let the man learn what happens when you mess with Park Jimin.

- - -

It's incredibly strange.

One moment Yoongi had still been yelling at the witch (who had admittedly looked rather terrified, which had been a rather clear sign that Yoongi was letting himself go a bit too far), feeling the immense intensity of the anxiety, stress and worry that had been eating at him for the past days, and the next… it all just fell away.

His rapidly approaching deadlines, his mom's health issues, the way his eyelid had already been twitching for days due to lack of sleep, his hard-to-admit real worry about Jungkook's wellbeing now that he couldn't stop following people around and blabbering on about his deepest needs and desires: his knowledge on all these issues was still there, but his anxiety about them had just faded somehow.

Suddenly, it had felt far more important that the sun was shining really brightly and prettily outside, that his body felt alive, and strong, and healthy.

Yes, it had been quite a shock that he'd suddenly been a frog, but… it felt kind of nice?

And now, sitting on a pretty green leaf in a pretty small pond surrounded by lush shrubberies and brightly blooming flowers, it feels even nicer.

The sun warms up his body in the best way, the big leaf underneath him feels fresh and soft under his toes, and the colours… the colours around him are so beautiful, so bright.

It's like Yoongi is experiencing a whole new world, and yeah, somewhere in the back of his mind he knows he should be freaking out about being a frog of all things, with no knowledge on whether the witch will even turn him back (he seemed to imply that Yoongi would turn back at some point? He hopes?), but he just can't get himself to worry about it.

Maybe it's a mentality that comes with suddenly having the brain the size of a walnut – if even – or maybe it's the fact that Yoongi hasn't felt this healthy in months if not years, but all thoughts and worries about things that aren't present right this moment feel completely irrelevant.

He's here, in the sun, in a pond, and that's what matters.

In fact, the water looks really, really inviting with the way the sun is reflecting off of it, the smell of leaves and bugs and living things in the air, and Yoongi carefully hops closer to the edge of the leaf, peeking over it into the clear water under him before making a decision.

He ignores the sudden panicky shriek from the witch and jumps.

Just like Yoongi had expected, the water is amazing.

It's fresh and alive and wonderfully clear, and Yoongi's strong back legs propel him through it with a speed that would make Yoongi laugh out loud if he were capable of it.

Being a frog is great.

What's not so great is that there's suddenly a hand caging him in, pulling him out of the water despite his best efforts to escape, and a moment later Yoongi finds himself on his leaf again, grumpily looking up at the witch as a little puddle of water forms around him.

"Hey, are you mad?! You can't just be jumping into the water: you're not an actual frog!" the witch yells at him, crouched on the very edge of the pond, one of the sleeves of his purple robes seeming almost black with how wet it is.

Yoongi gestures at his own body with one of his legs as well as he can to demonstrate that yes, he is, courtesy of the witch himself, and the witch seems to understand, adjusting: "Well, I mean, you are, but you're also not; who knows if you can even swim like a real frog?! Do you want to die?!"

He's pouting quite adorably as he speaks, as if he's genuinely worried for Yoongi's health, and again Yoongi feels rather bad for yelling at him, but it's not a pressing concern: the pressing concern is that he wants to swim.

Of course he can swim: he's a frog!

He makes that clear by hopping to the edge of the leaf again, sending the witch what he hopes is a pointed glare before diving right into the water again.

This time there's no hand trying to catch him, although Yoongi also makes sure not to stay underwater for long, letting his body float to the surface to send the witch another pointed look.

See? I can swim just fine!

The witch just looks back at him for a moment, still pouting, before he sighs deeply, and Yoongi knows he has won.

"Fine, I'll let you swim. But be careful, okay?"

That's how Yoongi comes to spend his afternoon in a way he could have never expected, swimming and playing and lounging on his lily leaf in the sun.

Thoughts still come and go, about his work, his mom, Jungkook, or the witch who's still sitting curled up in his chair next to the pond, apparently having taken off his witchy robes and now only wearing light-coloured jeans and a white t-shirt, a little pout on his face as he reads, but unlike when he's human these thoughts don't stick, they don't weigh him down. 

Instead, his mind is focussed on all the things he hears, sees, smells, feels, and it's absolutely wonderful.

Who even knew one could live like this?

Why can't he always live like this?

Those thoughts make it extra disappointing when after an indeterminable amount of time Yoongi suddenly feels very weird, a strange tingly feeling rushing through his body, and the next moment there's a huge splash, his body getting dragged under water in a way that's decidedly not nice.

He sputters and coughs as he breaks the surface, his soaked clothes clinging to his skin and weeds and leaves in his hair, and before he knows it he's being hauled onto the lawn, a firm hand curling around his wrist.

"Oh no, my poor plants!" the witch exclaims, and then Yoongi is left in a wet heap on the grass, still in shock as he watches the witch kneel by the side of the pond, his hands moving out in front of him as if scanning the area.

To Yoongi's surprise, the next moment the lily pad and various other plants in the pond seem to mend themselves, the water slowly turning clear again from where Yoongi's fall had made it all murky, and he watches on with wide eyes until the witch finally leans back, a relieved little smile on his face.

It's then that the witch turns to him, trepidation in his expression as he softly asks: "Are you going to yell at me again?"

He stands up as he speaks, pushing his blond hair out of his eyes and making himself stand tall as if to prepare himself for needing to fend Yoongi off again, and Yoongi's voice comes out croaky as he honestly says: "No."

"Oh." For a moment the witch just looks at him, seeming unsure of what to do now that Yoongi isn't being aggressive. "That's… uh, that's good."

Yoongi finds that he has trouble coming up with any suitable things to say while he's still adjusting to not being a frog anymore, and it takes him a moment before he finally manages to softly say: "I'm sorry. For yelling. And scaring you. I was just…"

His gaze travels down to where his cold, wet hands have found each other in his lap, and he sighs deeply before admitting: "I was just really stressed and frustrated, but you were right: it wasn't your fault."

He feels his cheeks heat in embarrassment as he clumsily pushes himself up from the ground, keeping his gaze down as he says: "I'm sorry; I'll get out of your hair now…"

With that, he hesitantly makes his way to the back door of the shop, pretty sure he won't be able to avoid having to walk his wet self through the shop to get to the street, but he doesn't get far before the witch is calling out to him.

"Wait!"

When Yoongi turns around the witch is already in front of him, having caught up to him, and Yoongi flinches when his hands rise up in front of Yoongi's body, only to feel his clothes spontaneously dry a moment later.

"Here, so you don't catch a cold…"

The witch sounds bashful too, as if struggling with how to act in this situation just as much as Yoongi is, and it's silent for a moment before he shyly adds: "I'm Jimin, by the way."

Finally, Yoongi lets his gaze rise again, throwing Jimin an awkward little smile as he says: "I'm Yoongi. Uh, so, bye?"

"Right. Bye! I hope your roommate gets back to his normal self soon…"

With a meek thanks Yoongi lets himself be escorted through the shop to the street, and it's only by the time that he's almost home that the situation fully catches up to him.

He was a frog for most of the afternoon, a literal frog.

And the weirdest thing is that he can't regret what happened at all. In fact, the more he thinks about it, the more he wishes he'd been able to stay a frog for longer, and he's really not sure what that says about him.

- - -

The days after what Jimin has come to call the 'frog incident' pass in peace.

He spends Sunday puttering about his shop, preparing ingredients, taking stock, working in his little herb garden, and from Monday onwards business continues as usual, no more angry, mint-haired strangers striding into his shop to harass him.

Still, Jimin finds himself thinking back to the incident a lot.

It had just been such an intense experience in many ways, way more intense than anything Jimin normally experiences, but mostly…

Well, mostly, Jimin has to admit to himself that having this tiny, adorable little frog who he knew was actually the angry stranger from a moment ago playing around so joyfully in his pond had been a sight to remember. Jimin had pretended to read so as not to make Yoongi nervous, but in reality Jimin had spent most of the afternoon observing him, completely surprised with how Yoongi had seemed so genuinely happy.

He had really expected that being temporarily turned into a frog would have felt like a punishment – it should have – but apparently he'd been very wrong, and Jimin's mind keeps going back to the sight of this tiny, almost smiling animal hopping around playfully, looking at the sky in wonder, seeming positively delighted to jump in and out of the water or just lounge on his lily pad leaf.

It had been the cutest thing Jimin had seen in a long, long time.

And then there'd been the transformation back. Instead of an angry, aggressive and very intimidating guy there'd suddenly been this shy, blushing man who'd barely been able to keep eye contact with Jimin, the twigs and leaves in his minty hair only making him look more endearing, and well, Jimin is just confused by the whole event, he supposes.

How can someone change in such an extreme way just by getting turned into a frog for a few hours? Was the Yoongi he met after the transformation the real one, or was the angry version of him his normal self and had he just been confused after being a frog for a bit?

It's a mystery that will surely keep Jimin occupied for quite a while, never failing to make him smile when he thinks back on it.

Who would have thought that turning someone into a frog could lead to such fond memories?

It's about a week after the frog incident that a familiar, cheerful guy with a wild mop of brown curls walks into the shop, this time accompanied by a younger man with wide, innocent eyes, who looks around in such wonder as soon as he enters the shop that Jimin feels rather flattered.

The two approach the till with the older dragging the younger forwards by the crook of his arm, the younger still distracted by the sights around him, even if his eyes quickly snap towards Jimin as soon as Jimin greets them with a cheerful good afternoon.

"Hi," the older, who Jimin remembers got called Tae by Yoongi, says decisively, throwing the younger guy a playful scowl as he speaks, "so, I'm not sure if you remember but I bought a potion for my rabbit a while back, and then this one here decided to drink it instead, so now I'll need a new potion please, if that's possible."

The guy who Jimin now knows must be Jungkook directly looks properly chastised, a blush rising to his cheeks as he mumbles a shy "I'm sorry; it looked very tasty…" in the direction of Jimin even if his gaze quickly drops down to his shoes, and Jimin can't help but smile.

"Hm, I indeed heard something like that already; I was wondering if you'd be around again…"

Taehyung's eyes grow wide. "You did?"

Oh, shit. Yoongi must not have told them about his visit.

Now Jimin feels himself start to blush too, not sure how to get himself out of this, stammering as he says: "Uh, yeah, your, uh, your roommate came by? To check if I could make an antidote, but I couldn't, so…"

Jimin isn't sure if Yoongi would want him to disclose that information but he really doesn't see how he could have avoided it, and he quickly redirects the conversation lest he also starts blabbering about turning Yoongi into a frog.

"So, uh, yeah, of course I can make you a new potion! Should be done in about a week; just fill in this information, like last time… And please make sure that it's actually used on the rabbit this time, of course, and in the dosage I suggested before."

He produces his client agreement from under the till, filling in the price and pushing it towards Tae so he can fill in his details and place his signature, relieved when Tae just smiles widely instead of asking further questions.

"Excellent! Kookie, if you will?"

Jungkook looks even more flustered as he digs up his wallet, clearly having been forced to pay for this potion given that he'd drunk the previous one, and soon Jimin is waving the two of them off, looking down at the client agreement.

Kim Taehyung, that was it. Apparently he lives only a few blocks away, now that Jimin properly looks at his address. It feels weird to know he has Yoongi's address by association now too since they live together, and Jimin stares at the paper for a moment longer before decisively putting it away.

Who cares where Yoongi lives? It's not like Jimin will see him again anyway.

Jimin is forced to take that back when a bit more than a week later, again on a Saturday, he spies someone with bright mint-coloured hair making his way towards his shop just before closing time. Taehyung had been over to pick up his potion just a few days ago, and Jimin already feels dread start to rise within him at what that might mean.

God, please don't let this be a repeat of last time…

Jimin holds his breath as soon as Yoongi steps into the shop, prepared for more yelling even though he really can't imagine that someone could have been stupid enough to drink the potion again, only to be left utterly surprised when Yoongi makes his way over to the till, looking more like Jimin might start yelling at him any moment instead.

"Uh, hi?" Yoongi starts, eyes meeting Jimin's only to directly dart away again, and Jimin frowns in confusion before he hesitantly manages: "Hi?"

That seems to have been enough to encourage Yoongi to speak on, because he awkwardly clears his throat before mumbling: "So, uhm, I know this is really weird and all, but I was wondering…"

He takes a deep breath, throwing Jimin one more hesitant glance before mumbling out something so softly that Jimin is sure he wouldn't even have heard it if he'd had his ear right in front of Yoongi's mouth.

"Excuse me?"

A heavy silence falls, Yoongi's cheeks growing pinker by the second, before Yoongi finally blurts out: "Can you turn me into a frog again?"

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that falls after Yoongi's question, Jimin's eyes wide as he stares at Yoongi in shock.

Did… did he hear that correctly? He can't have: Yoongi can't have possibly asked him to turn him into a frog again, that would be ridiculous.

Right?

Yoongi must take his silence for refusal, because he's already starting to walk backwards towards the exit as he stammers: "Fuck, yeah, uh, that was stupid, never mind. I, uh, I'll just –"

He gestures over his shoulder with his thumb before quickly turning around, practically running towards the door, and he's already almost out of it by the time Jimin finally recovers from the shock enough to call out after him.

"Hey! Wait!"

Luckily, Yoongi does halt, staying with his back towards Jimin for a moment before slowly turning around, cheeks still flaming, and since he doesn't make a move to come back towards the till Jimin just speaks loudly enough to cover the distance between them.

"Uh, I could, but… but why?"

That somehow makes Yoongi grow even more flustered, feet shuffling where he stands with his gaze trained on the floor.

"It… it felt nice."

He says it so softly that Jimin can barely hear him, letting silence fall for a moment before shrugging and adding, barely any louder: "Being a frog was nice. Peaceful."

As he speaks, his gaze longingly travels towards the garden where the pond is as if already imagining being there, and Jimin is surprised to find himself commiserating with him.

Yoongi did look far happier as a frog than Jimin has seen him be as a human.

But that's a really, really weird reason to turn someone into a frog, right? How is this even supposed to work: Yoongi just comes in whenever he feels particularly froggy and Jimin lets him into his garden to play?

They don't even know each other!

It seems like a bad idea, and that's why Jimin is surprised himself when he hears himself say: "Okay."

The effect is instant, Yoongi's eyes growing wide and hopeful as his gaze finds his.

"Okay?"

He looks so excited at the mere prospect of being a frog again that Jimin feels like he really can't take back his words anymore, and he sighs deeply.

"Yeah, okay. But you'll need supervision because we can't let you accidentally get eaten by a bird or something, and I still need to close up and clean the shop first, so…"

He'd been heading towards suggesting for Yoongi to come back later, but instead Yoongi surprises him again.

"I can help?"

That’s how Jimin finds himself cleaning his shop with Yoongi a moment later, still feeling utterly bewildered.

They don't talk outside of Jimin telling Yoongi what to do, both clearly unsure about how to act around each other, and before Jimin knows it everything has already been cleaned, Jimin locking the front door with Yoongi shyly standing halfway the shop as if awaiting instructions.

"Alright. Let's, uh, let's go outside then?"

The weather is less bright than last time, the sky fully overcast and a bit of a chilly wind cooling Jimin's skin through his robe as they head outside, and for the first time he wonders what kind of frog Yoongi actually was last time, and if those frogs can stand chillier weather.

Jimin wouldn't know how to turn him into a different frog, this kind of frog apparently being the default option for him, and now that he thinks about it he doesn't actually know a lot about frogs in general, not enough to guarantee that he'd know how not to accidentally put them in the wrong type of environment.

It's rather worrying, actually.

Yoongi himself doesn't seem to have any of those concerns, having already walked to the edge of the pond and staring into it longingly, and Jimin sighs once more, wondering what the hell he got himself into.

"Hey, uh," he calls out, "it's colder now, so you'll have to let me know if you grow too cold, alright? I'm okay with doing this for you but I really, really don't want you to get hurt or die, so please be careful…"

When Yoongi responds with a distracted "Yeah, of course," Jimin steps up closer to him, making sure to get Yoongi's attention on him before he continues: "I mean it. I'll be in big trouble if you get hurt as a frog in my garden, so I need you to take this seriously. And I can only turn you into a frog for an hour today: I still have things I need to do this afternoon. Okay?"

He's somewhat appeased when Yoongi keeps eye contact with him this time, nodding seriously as he says he understands, and then all there's left to do is actually turn him into a frog, Jimin supposes.

God, what a strange day…

Jimin focusses, holds his hands up in front of Yoongi, and then he feels his magic flow through him, rushing towards his fingertips and flowing out.

There's a blinding flash of light, and when it clears a tiny, now familiar frog is sitting in the grass in front of him.

A tiny frog that instantly smiles.

- - -

It feels like coming home.

One moment Yoongi still feels like he's practically drowning in his own anxiety, and the next moment his worried thoughts clear up, replaced by a deep sense of calm.

The wind makes the pretty autumn leaves around them rustle, the earth smells fresh and moist, and the water before him looks clear and inviting.

Life is good.

Yoongi throws one happy glance up to where Jimin is looking down at him, and then dives into the pond.

The shock of cool water against his tiny body feels invigorating like nothing else, and for a while Yoongi just speeds to and fro in the pond, feeling the steady thrum of his heart against his tiny ribcage as his muscles propel him forwards.

Then, he lets himself float to the surface, though, not wanting to worry Jimin, and to his surprise he finds the witch crouched on the side of the pond, watching him with a fond smile on his face.

"Having fun?"

Yoongi abruptly realises that he hadn't made a sound last time, too focussed on all his sudden other abilities, and he opens his mouth, curious about what kind of sound will come out as he tries to reply with a yes.

Apparently, it's a soft, surprisingly high croak, and Jimin instantly breaks down into giggles.

"Right, well, I'll interpret that as a yes…"

The witch is in his lilac robes again, this time with a witchy hat and small purple choker on too, and Yoongi has the fleeting thought that he looks really lovely and kind before his attention gets drawn to more pressing matters.

Like his sudden urge to jump.

He hears Jimin laugh in the background as he suddenly jumps out of the water, landing smoothly on 'his' lily pad leaf before continuing on to the next leaf and then the next, just because he can.

After he came home from his last transformation Yoongi had pondered about how he'd been so playful and lively in frog form while he isn't like that at all in real life – at least, only very, very rarely – and he still has no explanation for it now: he just is.

He feels good and healthy and happy, and apparently that leads to wanting to jump around like a crazed little animal.

And apparently that's a very funny sight because Jimin keeps laughing, staying put on the side of the pond instead of going to do some gardening as he said he'd planned to do, and suddenly an idea enters Yoongi's mind, an idea that he can't get out.

He faux-casually makes his way closer to where Jimin is sitting, pretending to just chill on a nearby leaf, before he suddenly makes a huge jump, right towards Jimin's left shoulder.

The startled shriek he gets for his efforts would make Yoongi grin if he could, Jimin falling backwards into the grass as he tries and fails to catch Yoongi, and Yoongi just keeps jumping wildly in order to escape being caught, revelling in the continuous stream of gasps and giggles and squeals his actions elicit in Jimin.

When Jimin finally does manage to catch him he's gentle as can be, holding Yoongi in his cupped hands while gazing down at him with a big grin, looking all dishevelled with his hair standing in all directions, his hat long gone.

"What am I supposed to do with you, huh? Such a menace…"

Yoongi just croaks loudly in response, causing another peal of giggles, and he sits there contentedly with Jimin looking down at him, suddenly feeling a bit drowsy.

Jimin's hands are really nice and warm compared to the cool surroundings, and just staying here and basking in the comfort of being held is starting to sound really appealing.

Jimin apparently doesn't agree, though, because a playfully exasperated "Aish, and now you're just going to fall asleep on me?" sounds and then Yoongi is suddenly moving, Jimin gently bringing him to his shoulder and depositing him onto it.

"There, now you can doze all you want and I can still go about my gardening. Okay?"

The rest of Yoongi's froggy time is spent like that, with Jimin humming to himself while puttering about the garden and Yoongi curiously looking on from his shoulder. Sometimes he'll jump to the ground for a bit to inspect something Jimin is doing or fool around for a moment, but he'll soon grow a bit chilly again and jump back up to the safety of Jimin's shoulder, delightfully uninhibited and unashamed in this state, and Jimin doesn't seem to mind at all.

In fact, if anything Jimin seems to enjoy the company, not taking long before he's gently babbling to Yoongi about what he's doing, and while Yoongi isn't properly listening, mostly occupied with just looking and feeling and smelling, the cadence of his voice and the vibrations it sends through his body still feel nice.

It's peaceful.

Again, it feels like way too little time has passed until it's already time to turn back again, although Yoongi this time at least gets a moment to mentally prepare himself.

Apparently, Jimin had cast his spell with exactly one hour in mind and had put an alarm so he could warn Yoongi in time – which is actually really smart, because Yoongi doesn't even want to think about how bad it would be if he'd turn into a human while sitting on Jimin's shoulder – and when his alarm goes off he scoops Yoongi up and gently lowers him to the ground, telling him it's almost time.

There are a few minutes of dreadful anticipation, and then the now somewhat familiar tingly sensation indeed starts spreading through Yoongi's body, and a moment later he sees his very human legs dressed in very human jeans in his field of vision.

It's a distressingly disappointing sight, and Yoongi sighs deeply, lifting one hand and opening and closing it in front of his face a few times to properly get used to the sight and feel of it again.

It's not that it's particularly depressing to be human again – in fact, Yoongi feels a lot calmer and at peace now than when he arrived at the witch's shop, which is rather wonderful – but it would have been nice to have been able to stay a frog for a bit longer.

Or a lot longer.

Yoongi is sure therapists would have a field day with him.

"Did you have a good time?"

Jimin's words pull Yoongi out of his thoughts, and he casts his gaze up to find the witch looking down at him, a tiny smile on his face as if he's unsure about Yoongi's mental state right now.

Which is fair, Yoongi supposes, and he makes sure to send him a reassuring smile back.

"Yeah, I did. I –"

Yoongi had been about to say something about the fun they'd had together in the past hour, but he cuts off when he abruptly realises how weird it actually is that he has spent most of the past hour sitting on Jimin's shoulder, even though he barely knows the man and the witch knows him even less with how Yoongi is almost always a frog around him.

It's not like any of what they just did is normal in any way, and Yoongi frowns for a moment as he tries to decide on whether or not to say anything about what had actually been quite an intimate time together.

Would it be less awkward to address it or to just let it be?

In the end, he settles on not going there, pushing himself up from the ground instead and softly saying, one hand automatically reaching up to scratch his neck in nervousness: "Thank you. I know this must be weird for you, especially given how we first met; it's really nice of you to do this…"

That bit of gratefulness is apparently enough to get Jimin flustered too, his cheeks dusting a cute pink as he quickly gazes to the side, a small smile on his face.

"Ah, it's really nothing, I was happy to help! You're, uh, -"

Jimin blushes even fiercer – somehow, it only now hits Yoongi properly just how otherworldly beautiful he is, his gaze tracing Jimin's cherubic face as the witch searches for words – before he looks back at Yoongi, his small smile growing into a blinding one.

"You're really cute as a frog. So it was no problem at all; you're welcome any time."

He only seems to realise what he just said once he already said it, quickly adjusting: "I mean, not all the time, of course. But, you know, if you continue to want to be a frog every now and then you can. Even if we'll probably have to let you play inside instead of out in the garden from now on…"

He lifts his gaze up as he says the last bit, frowning up at the darkening sky, and Yoongi realises Jimin is right about the weather probably not allowing outside playtime from now on with how it's quickly turning colder. Luckily, Yoongi finds that that doesn't diminish his enthusiasm at all: he's absolutely fine chilling out as a frog inside the shop instead of outside as long as he's allowed to be a frog in the first place.

Which is something Yoongi had really, really never expected to be something he'd ever wish for, but well.

Their goodbyes are slightly awkward but friendly, as is to be expected for strangers who are in such a strange situation together, and for the first time in a long time Yoongi finds himself feeling excited about the future as he lays in bed that night, for once not directly falling into ruminations.

It's incredibly odd and he'd rather die than inform Jungkook and Taehyung because he's sure they'd tease him forever, but he's found something exciting to look forward to again, something that will hopefully pull him out of what he only now fully realises has been a looming, slowly growing depression, in the form of turning into frog every now and then.

Yes, it's odd, but if it works, who cares?

Soon, Yoongi finds himself going over to Jimin's shop every two weeks or so, and then slowly even more frequently. He doesn't want to go too often, not wanting to burden Jimin with his presence too much, but every time he walks into the shop he's received with a genuine smile, one that only grows more blinding as weeks pass, so Yoongi feels like Jimin doesn't mind him coming in more and more regularly, like he might even be actively enjoying it.

At least, he very much hopes so.

They try to go outside one more time, the sun peeking through the clouds for long enough that it seems like it might warm them up sufficiently, but within half an hour dark clouds roll in, the first drops of rain coming down, and Jimin quickly carries Yoongi into the shop instead.

From then on, they just stay there whenever Yoongi comes over, warm and cosy, also because from November onwards Jimin starts opening the shop for full days on Saturdays.

Apparently wintertime is the busiest time of the year for him, and he simply can't afford to spend half his Saturday off anymore.

Yoongi finds he doesn't mind.

He'll come in around noon, Jimin will turn him into a frog during his lunch break, and Yoongi will play in the little fake pond Jimin magically created for him in one of the corners of the shop, mostly hidden out of sight from any customers, or will just sit on Jimin's shoulder while he works.

The latter might actually be his favourite activity.

Customers either notice him or they don't, and both are equally entertaining. People who do spot him either find him adorable and will spend their time cooing at him, which Yoongi would never admit to anyone actually feels really nice, or they'll startle, in which case both Jimin and Yoongi can get a good laugh out of it.

People who don't spot him are even funnier because Yoongi will just suddenly croak really loudly or jump up to sit on the edge of Jimin's hat out of nowhere, which inevitably leads to even bigger scares. It's especially fun to do to customers who are rude to Jimin in any way, Yoongi feeling particularly smug when it actually causes an annoying, nagging old lady to leave the shop screaming, especially when Jimin gently pats him on the head as soon as she's gone to thank him as if he's his great saviour.

And then there are of course all the many, many ways in which Yoongi can tease Jimin in his frog form.

Like using his tongue to suddenly steal Jimin's pen when Jimin is spending too long writing and is therefore not being entertaining enough, or crawling under his hat and making a little nest out of his hair, which apparently tickles enough that Jimin will start squeaking and flailing wildly even when there are customers around, or suddenly croaking really loudly in his ear when Jimin is about to doze off whenever there's a long lull in between customers.

But most of all it's just fun to sit there and observe as Jimin goes about his daily activities.

All the potions and charms and enchantments and herb mixes he makes are just very fascinating, the little victory dances he performs whenever something difficult works out are adorable, and he's just so nice.

He's incredibly, incredibly nice.

Whichever problem customers come in with, Jimin will always take them seriously, will always treat them with respect and understanding, and will do his utmost best to help them in whichever way he can, even if they're problems that Yoongi himself thinks are absolutely silly.

Like the woman who complains that her husband chews too loudly and asks for something to fix it, or the one half of a set of identical twins who wants to make her twin sister just a little less pretty so she herself will always be seen as the prettier twin.

Of course, Jimin doesn't always help customers in the way they'd originally wanted to be helped, but he'll find a solution that fixes their underlying problem anyway in a way that makes them leave with a smile on their face, happier and more confident than when they came in.

And then there are of course the actually sad, horrible cases of people being properly ill or heartbroken or mistreated, and for those customers Jimin tries even harder, going above and beyond to help them, even if it's just a bit, because of course his magic has bounds and not everything is fixable.

Just the fact that he tries so hard makes Yoongi feel the deepest respect and admiration for him.

If everyone would be as kind and caring as Jimin is, Yoongi is sure the world would be a far, far better place.

And so it is that after what are suddenly already months of going to Jimin's magic shop to get turned into a frog, Yoongi finds himself wondering at night: is it really just getting turned into a frog every week or so that makes his life so much better these days, or is it Jimin himself?

Yoongi finds that the answer to that is very easy, and it's not related to frogs at all.

- - -

It's surprising how fast one's life can change.

One moment Jimin is still used to a mostly solitary life, most of his social contact coming from the contact he has with his customers – people can say what they want, but it's really difficult making friends after moving somewhere new as an adult, especially when you're a witch amongst humans – and the next he has a companion once a week.

Sure, it's a companion who says very little, mostly because he's in a state in which he can't speak most of the time, but it's a companion nonetheless, and a very funny and lovely one at that.

Yoongi brightens Jimin's days up in ways he'd never expected, with his silly antics and teasing but also just with his steady presence on Jimin's shoulder, looking at whatever Jimin is creating with wide-eyed wonder and giving croaky, unintelligible commentary.

But most of all, it's the moments in which Yoongi isn't a frog but a quiet and somewhat shy mint-haired man who helps him clean the shop after closing time or brings him lunch or stays to talk for a bit when he notices Jimin had a busy and tiring day.

It's really nice having someone around who seems to care, even if it's just a bit and if Jimin is mostly a means to an end to him. The end being getting turned into a frog for an afternoon a week, which still remains a very unusual thing to want, but well, who is Jimin to judge?

He's just happy Yoongi wants to be here with him in any capacity, even if Jimin realises that might be a bit of a sad thing to take so much joy from.

It's been a very rainy and therefore relatively quiet afternoon in the shop when Jimin notices Yoongi hasn't been moving or making noise for a while, and he carefully looks down at his shoulder to find the tiny frog in what seems like a deep sleep, curled up against the material of Jimin's robe.

He really is utterly adorable.

Jimin needs to close the shop soon, though, something that will inevitably stir the tiny frog awake, and instead of allowing that to happen Jimin carefully sits down on the little bench he has standing against the windowsill, oh-so-gently levitating Yoongi onto the bench seat next to him.

That's where he leaves the little animal, knowing Yoongi will soon turn back to his human self but hoping he might keep sleeping for a while when he does.

Yoongi always looks so tired but seemed particularly exhausted when he came in this morning, with deep, dark rings under his eyes, and Jimin worries.

Although they've started talking more and more and Jimin therefore now knows about the business Yoongi runs together with Jungkook and Taehyung and how much effort goes into it, especially from Yoongi's side since he's responsible for the planning and design of the adjusted homes they make for people who have become handicapped, he still wonders how Yoongi can be this exhausted all the time.

Does he sleep that badly? Or does he have other stressors in his life on top of the business he runs?

Of course Jimin has thought a lot about why Yoongi might crave being a frog so often, and he feels like it might very well be a kind of escape, a way of not having to feel the things he's feeling when he's human.

Which doesn’t exactly sound like the healthiest coping mechanism, but well, it's not like Jimin actually knows anything for sure with how Yoongi spends most of their time together as a frog and they therefore don't have a lot of time to talk, and even when they do talk it's scary to ask such personal questions.

Maybe he genuinely just enjoys being a frog a lot without using it as an escape: Jimin wouldn't know.

Still, he really wishes he could help somehow, at least with the constant fatigue Yoongi is clearly experiencing, and he's still thinking about it when Yoongi finally does wake up, having indeed slept on for a while after turning back to human form (looking absolutely adorable curled up on Jimin's bench, his hands squished between his pulled up knees and a little pout on his face).

Maybe that's why he softly asks once Yoongi is done yawning and stretching himself properly awake: "Hyung, you know that if you have any issues sleeping, or, like, with stress or something, I could probably make a potion or herb mix for you, right?"

Yoongi doesn't directly answer, just looking at him with an undefinable emotion in his eyes, and Jimin flusters a bit, rambling on: "It's just that in case you're using your frog time as a way of not feeling your fatigue or stress or anything like that for a bit I'm sure I could find easier ways of helping you, ones that you could also try at home. So that you can feel better all the time instead of only when you're a frog, you know?"

It's one of those moments where Jimin feels trapped under Yoongi's intense gaze, Yoongi's cat-like eyes boring into his as if seeing right through him, and Jimin finds himself only growing more flustered, quickly adding, far too loudly: "Only if you want to, of course!"

God, he should really improve his communication skills, but Yoongi just has a way of making him feel all fluttery and shy, and that inevitably turns him into a rambling mess.

It's a thing that's been happening more and more often, and that Jimin is trying his best to push down: growing a crush on the guy who mostly just uses you as a means of getting turned into a frog seems like a really, really stupid thing to do.

"Thanks, Jimin-ah, I'll think about it."

Yoongi's words, still spoken in that deep lisp Yoongi gets whenever he's sleepy, pull Jimin from his thoughts, and he looks on as Yoongi finally stands up from the couch, stretching out widely one more time.

"Of course, hyung; I just want to help, that's all…" he manages to reply, his cheeks still feeling too warm as Yoongi puts on his coat, taking his time to don a hat and scarf too with how cold it still is outside, even if it's slowly creeping towards spring now.

Yoongi turns to him once more, smiling softly, even if Jimin has the creeping sensation that it's not really sincere.

"I know, Jiminie, I know… I'll see you, yeah?"

Jimin only has the time to nod before Yoongi is making his way out of the door, and as his form disappears into the darkness of the night, Jimin has the distinct feeling that he's said something wrong.

Shit.

- - -

Yoongi tries not to directly fall into an anxious spiral as he makes his way home through the dark, deserted streets of the shopping area in which Jimin's shop is located.

Jimin surely hadn't meant anything bad with what he suggested, it's just Yoongi's mind that twists it that way, as usual.

Right?

Jimin enjoys his presence: Yoongi knows he does. So Jimin suggesting to help him with his evident fatigue was just that, help, and not a subtle way of telling Yoongi that Jimin has been helping him by turning him into a frog every week for long enough now, and that it's time to find a solution to his issues that doesn't involve him needing to come to Jimin's shop so often.

Still, Yoongi can't help but run the conversation over and over in his head as he gets home, directly making his way to his own room and shutting the door behind him.

Easier ways to help you, ones that you could also try at home.

The more Yoongi thinks about it, the more it seems like an indirect way of asking Yoongi to please find remedies to his issues that he can do at home instead of at Jimin's shop, and Yoongi's chest starts to feel hollow as that possibility properly sinks in.

What if he's had it all wrong? What if Jimin has really only been helping him during the past few months because he's a wonderfully kind and helpful person, and the tender, careful friendship that Yoongi had thought had been growing between them is just that: a thought, a delusion?

Yoongi has never seen Jimin be unkind or impatient with anyone: would he really let Yoongi know his true thoughts in case he'd been growing sick and tired of having Yoongi around, jumping around and acting silly as a frog?

God, what if Jimin never liked any of it, has maybe even been feeling embarrassed by Yoongi's behaviour, and has just been tolerating Yoongi's presence out of the goodness of his heart?

Fuck.

Yoongi only realises that he's started to tear up when the first tear slips down his cheek from where he has curled himself up on his bed, and he whimpers as silently as he can as he curls up further, hiding himself from the world the best he can.

Of course it had all been a delusion: someone like Jimin is too good for him.

By far.

By the time Saturday rolls around again, Yoongi is a wreck.

He has barely slept at all throughout the week, just spiralling further and further, and the stupid thing is that some part of him knows that he's just spiralling, that all the nasty things his mind whispers to him aren't true, but he still can't get himself to snap out of it.

He's been here before – many, many times, sadly – and it really just feels like his mind is against him, like it willingly tries to make his life miserable by ruining every good thing he comes across.

By ruining what he had with Jimin.

Yoongi is sitting at the kitchen table, sipping lukewarm coffee, not even sure what time it is, when Taehyung comes in, looking at him in confusion.

"Hyung, shouldn't you be, you know, not here?"

When Yoongi just looks up at him blearily, he clarifies: "You know, with your boyfriend, or whoever you're hiding from us? It's past noon: you've never been here past noon for, like, the past half year…"

It's only then that realisation properly sinks in that he has indeed not gone to Jimin's like usually, like he already knew deep inside he wouldn't, and Yoongi isn't sure what his expression is doing right now but it can't be something good with how Taehyung quickly sits down opposite of him, worry clear in his every movement.

"Hyung, you know… you know you can talk to us, right? If you're going through something, or if you just need someone to hug you, or… or just anything, right?"

"I know," Yoongi croaks, unable to look up from where he's holding his cup tightly, "I know…"

He swallows heavily before he adds: "It's nothing. You know how I get sometimes; it's just that. It will pass."

"Hm," Taehyung hums, clearly disbelieving, "and I also know that those are the moments in which you need someone to kick your ass and pull you out of it, so that's what I'm going to do right now."

To Yoongi's surprise, Taehyung suddenly leans forwards, grabbing his hands and holding them tightly while he leans down over the table, not stopping until Yoongi meets his gaze.

His eyes are earnest as can be as he softly says: "Hyung, you know that you're lovely, and smart, and kind, and so, so worthy, right? You're the very best hyung Kookie and I could wish for and the very best friend to Joonie and Jin and Hobi, and you're really, really not any of those bad things you tell yourself you are. All of us love you, and I'm sure that whoever you've been sneaking off to for the past half year loves you too, because you're great."

He frowns, tilting his head a bit as if he's an overgrown, confused puppy. "If you've even sneaking off to someone, of course; if you're just out there petting kittens or something that's also fine. Just…"

He sighs deeply. "Just don't be so hard on yourself, okay? And trust a bit. In yourself, and in others, and in the world. Can you do that for me, hyung? Or do I need to come over and forcefully hug it into you?"

He says the last part like a playful threat, but Yoongi can't even laugh, can't react at all, too busy trying not to break down in tears. Which Taehyung of course takes as an invitation, and the next moment he's next to Yoongi, hugging him so tightly against his chest that Yoongi can barely breathe.

"Love you, hyung," he whispers, kissing the top of Yoongi's head, and while Yoongi would normally always push him away, not one to allow physical affection often, now all Yoongi can do is cling to Taehyung, holding on for dear life.

Taehyung and Jungkook often pretend to be silly, childish and unserious, and then sometimes something like this will suddenly happen, and it always leaves Yoongi feeling so, so lucky that he has them in his life.

"Thank you, Tae; love you, too…"

Taehyung's words stay with Yoongi all throughout the day, and the next.

For a moment, Yoongi had considered hurrying over to Jimin's store before closing time that Saturday anyway, suddenly feeling absolutely horrible at the mere idea that Jimin might be waiting for him, missing him, worrying about him.

But Yoongi had also known he needed some more time to mentally prepare if he didn't want to end up being an absolute mess in front of Jimin, and so it's only on Monday that he makes his way over to Jimin's shop, just before Jimin's usual midday break time.

He'd spent the whole Sunday in his room, staring out at the world from his windowsill while he thought about the situation, a notebook on his lap that he'd used to write down his thoughts and feelings and the facts he was working with.

Like the fact that Jimin had always sent him that radiant, toothy smile whenever he arrived at the shop, a smile that looked completely different from the ones he'd sent customers.

Or the fact that Jimin had so often been the one to suggest for Yoongi to stay a bit longer after he turned back to human form, for a tea or a chat or just some extra time together before parting ways.

Or how Yoongi can't deny that he's fallen desperately in love with him over the course of the past months.

It's with those facts in his mind that he forces himself to walk on instead of fleeing.

He deserves to at least try, and Jimin deserves to have him explain his absence instead of him just staying away, and they both deserve him to be brave for a change.

Yoongi's hands are clammy and his heart is beating in his throat by the time he reaches Jimin's shop, and he pauses in front of the door for a moment, doorknob in hand, closing his eyes as he breathes in a deep breath.

It will be okay.

Either Jimin will like him back, as a friend or as something more, or he won't, and in either of those cases Yoongi will be okay.

He'll still have Jungkook and Taehyung, the rest of his friends; it will be okay.

He nods decisively to himself a single time, and steps in.

It doesn't even take a second before Jimin is upon him, hovering in front of him with wide, worried eyes and hands that seem to itch to reach out, even if he doesn't quite dare to do it.

"Hyung! Are you okay? What happened? I was so worried when you didn't show up; I only realised now that we never exchanged phone numbers and I almost went to your place because I know your address from when Taehyung bought the potion, but I didn't know if that was appropriate, and –"

He breaks off to gasp for air, stepping even closer. "Are you okay?"

He looks so genuinely worried, like he so genuinely cares, that Yoongi feels himself choke up, and he doesn't think for a change, just steps forwards and wraps his arms around him.

"I'm sorry…"

Jimin stays frozen for only a second before his hands tenderly wrap around Yoongi's back, and they stay like that for a moment, Yoongi breathing in the familiar scent of Jimin's flowery detergent, before he finally dares to step back.

It's too difficult to look at Jimin, so Yoongi looks down at his shoes instead as he softly says: "Nothing happened. Well, I happened, I guess. Sometimes… sometimes my mind just works against me, and I get really anxious for no real reason, and…"

He swallows heavily, daring to throw Jimin a glance. "And maybe we can sit and talk for a bit?"

That's how they end up in Jimin's living room above the shop, Jimin quickly making them some tea.

Yoongi has never been here before, the two of them always having stayed downstairs whenever he came over, and he looks around from where he'd sat down at the small, round dining table when they came in.

It's a small space, much like the ground floor, but it's very cosy, very Jimin.

Cute little plants and knick-knacks everywhere, soft-looking rugs covering part of the pretty wooden floor, and the pastel colours of the couch and armchair making the space look both light and warm.

It doesn't take long before Jimin returns with two steaming cups, and they're both silent for a bit when he sits down, choosing to blow their tea instead of trying to talk.

Then, Yoongi clears his throat, forcing himself to look up at Jimin, at the way he looks so soft in his flowy robes, the way his eyes are so warm as they look at him, so open and caring and lovely.

"I like you a lot."

It's not what Yoongi had planned to say at all, and he feels himself abruptly start to flush brightly, but he carries on anyway. He can hardly stop now: he'll just have to make it work.

"At first I just really wanted to be a frog, as you know, but then I spent time with you and got to know you in the process, and… and I just grew to like you a lot. You're so, so kind and caring and playful and funny and lovely; I just…"

Yoongi is pretty sure the hair at the nape of his neck is starting to stick to his skin with how badly he's sweating, and he swallows heavily, looking down at his cup again as he says: "Coming here became the highlight of my week, not just because you could turn me into a frog, but because of you."

Now comes the part where he has to admit what a fool he's been, and he takes a shaky breath before he softly says: "And then you offered to help me with my issues so I could feel better at home too, and my mind translated that to you having grown bored of me. To you not wanting me around anymore. And –"

He's interrupted when Jimin speaks up, sounding absolutely horrified.

"Hyung! That wasn't it! Of course that wasn't it, I –"

"I know, I know," Yoongi quickly says, looking up and throwing Jimin a small, reassuring smile. All his hopes regarding how Jimin would react are slowly coming true, and to his surprise Yoongi finds himself calming down, his heart rate slowly normalising again, even if a difficult part of the conversation is still to come.

See? Jimin never meant to chase him away. It was just his anxiety talking, it wasn't real.

It feels really, really good to have that confirmed.

"That's just what my brain does sometimes. I know it's destructive and stupid, but I can't always stop it from happening… But I want you to know that I didn’t stay away to hurt you. I'd never want to hurt you: as I said, I like you a lot, and I'd really, really like to keep coming around. Either as a frog or as human; in any way you prefer. And in any capacity you prefer. As a friend, or -"

Now his nerves do come back, and Yoongi sends Jimin a nervous glance, swallowing heavily once more before softly saying: "Or as something more than friends. Whatever you want."

It's silent for a moment, Yoongi trying hard not to squirm in his seat, but then there's suddenly a sniffle, and Yoongi's eyes grow wide when he looks up to find Jimin crying.

He's on his feet within a second, kneeling down next to Jimin's chair and turning it towards him.

"Hey, hey, why are you crying?" he softly says. "I didn't mean to make you cry, I'm sorry –"

"You – you like me? Like, properly?"

Jimin sounds incredulous in an awed way, his arms curled in front of his chest and his shoulders hunched in to make him seem so much smaller and more fragile than he normally seems, and Yoongi stares at him in confusion for a moment, eyes searching Jimin's wide, teary but hopeful ones.

"Yes?" he settles on, "Of course I do? Jimin, have you met yourself? You're the most lovely, wonderful, radiant person I know, and I actually somehow know quite a lot of lovely people –"

Yoongi doesn't get to finish his sentence because he suddenly has a lap full of Jimin, the witch having slid from his chair right into his arms to cling tightly to him, his nose busying itself in the crook of Yoongi's neck.

"I thought you just wanted to be a frog…" he mumbles against Yoongi's skin, and it takes Yoongi a moment to process but then he quickly moves back a bit, searching Jimin's eyes.

"You -?"

Two twin tears roll down Jimin's cheeks again, and he giggles wetly as he wipes them away.

"I thought you just wanted to be around me because I could turn you into a frog. I never – I never thought –"

More tears escape again, but this time Yoongi is the one to wipe them away, cupping Jimin's face in his hands.

"Shit, Jiminie, I'm so sorry for making you think that. That wasn't it at all, it hasn't been like that for so long… I like you. I genuinely like you so much, and the frog thing is just a bonus at this point, okay?"

He gets another wet chuckle for his wording, and then Jimin is nuzzling into his neck again, holding him tightly. Yoongi's arms automatically curl around him too, holding him back just as tightly, and they sit there for a while before Jimin softly whispers: "I like you, too. As a friend, or as something more. Or as both. Just so you know."

And if the shop stays closed for lunch far longer than normally neither of them care, far too caught up in talking with each other, in connecting.

As Yoongi soon finds out, life as Jimin's boyfriend is wonderful.

He still spends every Saturday afternoon at Jimin's shop, but Jimin also comes around to his place a few times a week after work, or he goes over to Jimin's.

Of course, Jungkook and Taehyung have a field day when they find out that Yoongi's mystery person was Jimin all along, and especially when they find out how exactly they met, but Yoongi undergoes their teasing without complaint.

It is admittedly kind of funny, after all.

Plus, most of the time he's far more focussed on how Jimin giggles along with Taehyung and Jungkook whenever they tease Yoongi, Jimin slowly growing more and more comfortable around Yoongi's roommates to the point that he soon dares to laugh and joke around with them freely.

It's only now that they actually take the time to talk about everything with each other that Yoongi learns how lonely Jimin has been since moving here, and he loves seeing how his own friends slowly also become Jimin's friends, Jimin fitting into his friend group like a puzzle piece falling into place.

Life is really, really good.

And yes, despite the potions and herb mixes that Jimin made for him that help him sleep and relax when things become too much, Yoongi sometimes still has his low moments, and sometimes he'll then still ask Jimin to turn him into a frog, spending an afternoon sitting on his shoulder.

And sometimes he'll do it even though he isn't in a low moment, just because being a frog is fun.

However, Yoongi has also come to learn that Jimin's hugs, especially those in bed before they go to sleep, have an effect that's surprisingly close to the peace and quiet in his mind that Yoongi experiences when he's a frog.

And his kisses work even better.

Which is why Yoongi makes sure to indulge in all of those as often as he can.