Archive of Our Own

two baddies, who’s driving the porsche?

yeoberman

change of plans for atz party!! im going as a kitty cat now ₍^. .^₎⟆

wooyang

but ur a puppy

wait

dude wtf

i thought we were going as playboy bunnies together!!!!

yeoberman

i thought it might be a better idea :(( 

jongie doesnt wanna go as hugh hefner anymore

wooyang

?????

he can go suck a dick

wait no hed enjoy that

he can go lick a clit

he sucks

i cant go as a playboy bunny by myself now :(((( thatll look so dumb

yeoberman

go as a witch and i can be your familiar!!

u have all the right clothes🌝

wooyang

…

isnt that a little too on the nose🙄

yeoberman 

cmon itll be cute!! 

u know u love kitties its a purrfect fit!

wooyang

ugh

fine

ok

dork

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅

The Alpha Theta Zeta house is lit up from the inside out, windows pouring flashing lights and pumping music onto the street. 

Wooyoung has been walking in the cold, alone, past various groups of students through campus and Greek Row for the last twenty minutes to get here. Typically, Wooyoung and Yeosang would have already been tipsy and arriving together to the party after getting ready in their shared apartment, but Yeosang had insisted on getting ready at Jongho’s place instead. Which, coincidentally, is the very frat house Wooyoung stands before now. 

So now Wooyoung stands dead sober, feeling like it would be too sad to pregame by himself, and so cold he can’t feel his fingers and toes, in front of the ATZ house for their Halloween party. 

Fuck he needs a drink.

The party is at full tilt when Wooyoung enters, debauchery and underage drinking present and accounted for. The front room is dark, with LED strands lighting up the walls in deep purples and blues. The space is crowded, wall to wall with college students in various costumes, and, in some cases, various stages of undress. 

The bass is pounding and bodies are moving in front of the DJ booth set up at the far end of the main room of the house. The president of the frat and one of Wooyoung’s close friends, Hongjoong, is up at the DJ booth, spinning for the crowd. He is dressed in a sharp, pin-striped suit with slicked back hair and a cute, little, fake mustache. If Wooyoung looks around, he’s sure he will find Seonghwa dressed up as Morticia to match his boyfriend. With the way Hongjoong practically bows down at Seonghwa’s feet, Gomez Addams is the perfect costume for him.

Wooyoung manages to make eye contact over the crowd with Hongjoong, who gestures his head towards the kitchen after sending Wooyoung a wave and a smile. 

He makes his way through the crowd of bodies, the air permeated with the dampness of sweat and the scent of alcohol. Yunho is the first one he catches sight of upon entering the kitchen— his tall, lanky frame hard to miss. A cowboy hat is perched on his blonde head, with an outfit to match. Next to Yunho stands his boyfriend, Mingi, in a seemingly unrelated Roman warrior costume, complete with short, skirted armor, a cape, and an ostentatious helmet with red feathering. 

Wooyoung sidles up to where the two are making drinks at the large island in the kitchen, putting his arms around their waists and startling them. 

“Hey boys, looking good,” Wooyoung tells the two, in his most leering voice, teasing the couple. “Looking for a third?”

Yunho and Mingi both turn to look at him, and Yunho whistles at Wooyoung. “If it's you in that outfit, absolutely,” Yunho replies, matching Wooyoung’s suggestive tone. 

Wooyoung looks beautiful tonight, truly ethereal. He has a long, black dress on, made of a material that shines alluringly in the lights. Long slits allow his hips and legs to show through the skirt where they end in pretty black heels, and the top is an elegant halter neck that buttons around his throat snuggly and extends into a hood and cape. Cuffed around his biceps are gold rings that flow into sleeves made of a sparkly black tulle and cascade downwards, connecting to the sheer, sparkle laden cape at his back. Atop his head is the classic, pointed witch hat with a wide brim, made from similar material to his dress and looking like the night sky was sewn into it. Even Wooyoung’s skin and hair seemed to be made of starlight, with the shining highlighter on his face and gems adorning his long, black locks.

“Hey! There is no room for a third in this relationship,” Mingi says, pouting. It’s a comical sight beneath the helmet. 

“Don’t worry, big guy, no one’s stealing your cowboy,” Wooyoung placates, patting Mingi’s butt.  

“I really do like your outfit, though. You look incredible,” Yunho tells him, smiling like the puppy dog he is.

“Thank you, I honestly just had this lying around. I was kinda afraid that people wouldn’t realize I was actually dressed up,” Wooyoung grins at him. It’s true, though. Wooyoung tends to wear pretty flashy clothing, making the sidewalks of their college his own personal runway. Though the hat is something he’s had for a while, to most people it would probably be the only thing that indicates he’s wearing a costume at all.

“How are you liking the party so far?” Yunho asks excitedly, changing the subject at the sight of Mingi’s kicked puppy look. Yunho's been talking for weeks about this party, excited to put all of his finely tuned plans into motion. As the social chair of ATZ, it is his job to plan it, and he loves the praise of a job well done. 

“It's great! Everyone seems to be having a fun time. It'll be even better once I get a drink in me. Mingi?”

“Yeah, yeah. One fruity, deadly blend coming right up,” Mingi replies with a roll of his eyes. He moves behind the bar top in the kitchen where he is the master of drinks for the party. He starts pulling down various bottles of alcohol and mixers from the shelves, along with a silver bejeweled flask that Wooyoung eyes suspiciously. 

He looks away from the flask, figuring Mingi must have come up with a special brew for his friends tonight. Wooyoung trusts him well enough. “So, what’re you guys dressed up as, anyway?”

Yunho gasps. “You don’t recognize the gay icons of the 21st century?” Yunho asks, a scandalized hand laying over his own chest in an affronted posture. At Wooyoung’s confused look, Yunho gets even more dramatic, waving his hands around. “Um hello? Octavius and Jedediah? Night at the Museum? Ring any bells?” 

“Oh my gods, the two little figurine guys who are always fighting! They totally were gay for each other,” Wooyoung suddenly remembers. 

“Yes, thank you!”

Wooyoung giggles at Yunho’s antics, and then looks around the party. “So have you guys seen Yeosang and Jongho yet?” Wooyoung asks, having not found half of their friend group yet at the house. “Or are they still fucking upstairs?”

“I’d say still fucking. Haven’t seen them since they went to get ready,” Mingi replies, eyes focused on the sweet concoction he’s making for Wooyoung. 

“I can’t wait to see Yeosang's outfit. I bet he’s gonna look like a cute little furball,” Wooyoung squeals, excited to see his friend’s kitten costume. Mingi hands Wooyoung a red solo cup filled with a very vibrant beverage that sparkles, with a suspicious, pink vapor that floats from the surface. Wooyoung takes a whiff of it before he sips, and he notices it doesn’t even smell like alcohol. Whatever Mingi put in it must’ve nullified the smell and taste to make a deadly drink. The beverage is good, it burns Wooyoung’s throat just the way he likes, warming his still slightly cold fingers as the alcohol begins to travel through his body, but without the nasty taste alcohol usually has. 

“I guess cute is one way to describe it…” Yunho trails off, looking past Wooyoung through a doorway connecting the living room to the kitchen. The space beyond is filled to the brim with partiers as well, but it's much more chill than the front room. The lights are still low, but people lounge on couches and mill about talking to their companions rather than engaging in the debaucherous scenes of the other rooms. 

Well, it's mostly less debaucherous, because standing near the fireplace with a drink in his hand is none other than Kang Yeosang, and he’s decidedly not dressed up as a cute kitty cat. 

“Yah!” Wooyoung cries, marching from the kitchen to Yeosang’s side, leaving Yunho and Mingi behind. 

Wooyoung grips Yeosang’s shoulder from behind and tugs it so Yeosang is facing him, and he’s able to see the full extent to which his friend is not a cat.

Wooyoung had gotten an eye full of ass before he turned Yeosang around, but the costume is almost as scandalous from the front. Yeosang’s torso is synched tight into a black, strapless, lacy unitard and corset combo. That's about all he’s wearing, and the fabric doesn’t leave anything to the imagination. His ass hangs out of the thonged back that sits below a white puffball, and his chest muscles squeeze together to form obscene looking cleavage at the bust of the piece. His legs are covered in shiny, sheer tights, and he stands at least four inches over Wooyoung with the black heels he’s wearing. Fluffy, white bunny ears perched in Yeosang’s white, wavy hair finish the outfit. 

“What the hell, Yeosang? I thought you said we weren’t going as Playboy Bunnies anymore!” Wooyoung asks him, flustered and frustrated all at once. 

It’s clear Yeosang is still trying to adjust to Wooyoung suddenly being in front of him, because he blinks owlishly at Wooyoung. It's unclear if the confusion comes from the alcohol Yeosang has likely consumed or if it's just Yeosang’s default puzzlement. 

Wooyoung looks to the side then and realizes that Yeosang isn’t alone. Next to him stands his boyfriend, dressed in a white, sailor cap and red, velvet robe. Jongho moves to Yeosang’s side and slides an arm around his waist. 

“Hugh Hefner? Seriously? Yeosang, what the fuck is going on?” Wooyoung questions, hands on his hips and whining at Yeosang in confusion.

Jongho pouts at Wooyoung dramatically. “What? Don’t I look good with my bunny?” he asks, a shit eating grin stretching on his face as he grabs Yeosang by the waist, pulling him so he’s flush against Jongho’s side. Jongho spreads his other arm out in a showy manner as Yeosang puts his hand on Jongho’s chest, leaning down to kiss his cheek. 

Wooyoung scoffs at the sight. “You know that’s not what I meant, Choi Jongho. I mean, what are you doing in those outfits when you,” and at this, Wooyoung points a perfectly manicured finger in Yeosang’s direction, “told me we weren’t wearing them anymore?” 

Yeosang’s eyes widen comically, and feignedly, in surprise. His pretty lips part around a light gasp as he turns to Wooyoung. “Oh no, did I forget to tell you?” he asks, the shock in his voice sounding faker than the bunny ears on his head. 

Wooyoung narrows his eyes at Yeosang, sniffing out the lie from his best friend instantly. Yeosang is a notoriously bad liar, but this is worse than usual. He’s not sure what Yeosang’s angle is, but he plans to find out.

“You did this on purpose. Why?” Wooyoung asks flatly, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Yeosang shrugs, a light smile and his best dumb expression on his face. “I don’t know what you mean, Youngie. I’m so very sorry.”

“Ugh, you know what? I don’t care what your angle is, but I’m mad at you for lying. I feel dumb not having a costume buddy when all our friends are dressed up in couples costumes!” Wooyoung pouts, crossing his arms across his chest, self conscious. 

“Oh, Youngie, don’t be like that! You look really pretty,” Yeosang tells him gently. He peels himself away from his boyfriend to rest his hands on Wooyoung’s shoulders. “And hey! Maybe you should try to find your kitty cat out there,” Yeosang says mischievously, nodding his head to the crowd.

Wooyoung groans, looking up into Yeosang’s eyes and whines at him. “What did you do?” he accuses.

“Nothing!” Yeosang says, incredibly unconvincingly. “I just figured maybe you’ll find your familiar, tonight, that’s all,” Yeosang says, all faux innocence. 

Wooyoung stills at this, his shoulders slightly hunching over, looking away, a mix of shame and sadness coming over him suddenly. Yeosang sees his reaction, and quickly wraps a comforting arm around his shoulder. 

“Hey, no matter who, or what, shows up in your life, there’s still a chance for love. I know for a fact there’s someone out there dressed as your kitty cat tonight. Why don’t you go find him,” Yeosang suggests gently, turning Wooyoung’s body to face the rest of the room and gesturing with his chin out to the crowd.

Wooyoung huffs, shaking off the despair. Tonight is a night for fun. 

“You are so annoying, Kang Yeosang,” Wooyoung tells him, a finger pressed into his friend’s chest. “There’s probably a million people dressed up as a cat tonight! How am I even supposed to find him?” Wooyoung whines, looking out over the sea of costumed students.

“Mm,” Yeosang hums, “I think you’ll know when you see him.”

“You’re insufferable and I hope you fall on your face in those heels,” Wooyoung says to Yeosang huffily before he marches back to the kitchen, downing the rest of his drink along the way. Yunho has vacated the premises, but Mingi remains, still mixing drinks. He now stands over a massive bowl, having created a vat of jungle juice for the party. 

“Fill me up again, big boy,” Wooyoung tells Mingi miserably. “And add in whatever that pink stuff is, and maybe some extra vodka. I’m going to need it.”

Mingi raises an eyebrow at Wooyoung, but dutifully ladles out some of his alcoholic mixture into a solo cup, followed by a quick splash of whatever is in the bejeweled flask. He holds the cup out to Wooyoung, the suspiciously pink vapor enticing Wooyoung into taking a big gulp. There’s none of the bite, but the heat of the alcohol still makes Wooyoung shimmy his shoulders in a shudder. 

With that, Wooyoung lifts his cup in a faux cheers to Mingi, and walks off without another word. He doesn’t want to explain what he is about to do, too embarrassed to admit he’s a lonely loser whose friends decided they need to set him up on what he imagines is meant to be a blind date at one of the biggest parties of the year.

Moving back out into the packed rooms of the house, Wooyoung sighs as he looks out over all the partiers. The party has gotten even more crowded since he arrived, and the bodies press closer than ever. The likelihood of Wooyoung finding his costume buddy tonight seems to be small, but he figures he has nothing better to do than mill about and look around. 

He starts in the front room, back where all the dancers are. Hongjoong has abandoned his DJing post to allow for a, likely incredibly curated, playlist of music to run. Wooyoung spots Hongjoong from the back, tucked into a dark corner, pressing who could only be Seonghwa up against the wall and is fervently making out with him. Wooyoung smiles at his friends as he looks away, back over the crowd to search.

Here goes nothing.

The front room turns up with nothing, as does the den, the backyard, and the large communal shower (which may seem like an odd place to look, but considering Wooyoung found a big group gathered in there running a beer shotgunning contest, it seemed worth a try). There are a few girls he has run across in kitten costumes, but Yeosang knows better than to set him up with anyone but a man. 

His last hope remains in the basement. Wooyoung descends the decidedly sticky staircase, and gazes out over the crowd. It’s decorated similarly to the front room of the house, but features a large table set in the dead center that hosts a very competitive beer pong competition. On the far wall is a chalk board with an impressive bracket of teams, slowly being filled in as the night progresses and the games of pong continue. This is where he finds Yunho and Jongho, playing together under a team labeled “The Ho’s.” They’ve already won one game in the time it has taken Wooyoung to search through much of the party. 

Wooyoung decides migrating to the table is the best way for him to search the crowd, considering most of it is centered around the game. It gives him a good vantage point to look out into the crowd and really observe everyone. That’s how he finds what seems to be a promising lead for the night. 

There’s a boy near the stairs leading from the basement back upstairs. He is the first guy Wooyoung has seen wearing a cat costume tonight, donning black clothes and black kitten ears that match his dark hair. The guy is around Wooyoung’s height, and incredibly pretty. He looks intimidating, though. The man looks over the crowd of the basement with critical eyes, not quite a frown on his face, but definitely not a smile. 

He is clearly looking for someone, and Wooyoung’s stomach drops at the idea that it might be Wooyoung that the guy is looking for. Wooyoung’s heart won’t be in it, he knows that deep in his bones, but he starts moving towards the guy anyway, figuring he will at least try for all of Yeosang’s effort. 

He doesn’t make it more than a few steps when the guy is encompassed in arms from behind, another man having snuck up from behind the boy. The man behind him is dressed in a brown mouse costume, complete with rounded ears atop his head and a cute pink nose. His plump cheeks spread into a blinding, heart-shaped smile as the guy in his arms turns around, smiling slyly at him. The mouse-boy bounces excitedly and the cat-boy smiles fondly down at him, the intimidating look on his face melting at the sight of the boy wrapped around him. He leans in for a kiss, and Wooyoung has to look away. 

Fuck, that hurts. It’s not even someone he knows, but it stings. He looks toward the pong table once again, but he catches a glimpse of Mingi looking fondly at Yunho and Jongho crushing Yeosang in a big hug when he makes the game winning shot. As much as he loves his friends, Wooyoung’s heart hurts, and he decides to vacate the basement. 

It’s a bit too much, seeing all his friends together and happy. Yet, he also wouldn’t ever want their happiness to leave them. Some days it’s just better for him to remove himself from the situation, allow himself to sulk alone and gear up to show his usual bubbly personality when his friends eventually find him once again. 

He finds himself in the front room for the third time tonight, and sighs to himself. The whole house has been searched at this point, and Wooyoung is starting to feel like one big joke, no closer to finding this mystery man Yeosang has seemingly set up for him tonight. 

He is about to give up, cut his losses and lick his wounds in embarrassment when he sees it. A pair of fluffy ears over the crowd in the front room, ones that he definitely hasn’t already seen tonight. Then, the sea of bodies parts just enough for Wooyoung to see the wearer. 

And there he is, his costume buddy, across the room and searching the crowd presumably for Wooyoung.

Choi San.

Wooyoung sighs, in exasperation at Yeosang or at the beautiful sight of San, he’s not even sure. In any case, he starts to make his way through the crowd. 

His heart begins to thump erratically as he gets closer, San looks so cute. He’s wearing a lavender sweater, the fluffy softness of which can be seen even from where Wooyoung is, walking through a sea of people. Matching lavender cat ears rest on his head, his hair styled to lay over his forehead, making him look cutely innocent. Everything about him looks soft, from the sweater to the sweet pout on his face as he searches the crowd, even the way his petite hands clutch the piece of paper he’s holding. 

I’m so fucked.

Wooyoung has been in love with San since freshman year when they shared a first year level speech class together. As a dance major, and San as an entrepreneurship major, neither of them were particularly good at the class. They got paired up for a business proposal type presentation and had so much fun creating it together, making up a business pitch for San’s dream: a flower shop with a small cafe. They aced the presentation, and Wooyoung has been enamored with him ever since. It doesn’t help that their friend groups overlap more often than not, especially with San being in the same fraternity as most of their friends. 

San has always been kind and caring towards him, too. Wooyoung has never fallen into a friendship so easily as he had with San those few years ago, and it was even easier to fall in love. It’s like San was created just for him, perfectly matched for his humor and love. 

It’s unfortunate that San doesn’t feel the same.

Wooyoung had confessed to him two years ago, and San had turned him down. It stung at the time, still does really, but Wooyoung has committed to being very good friends with San instead. He would never want to ruin their friendship over something that Wooyoung can bear. 

But now Yeosang has interfered, and something tells Wooyoung that it's not in a way that he would approve of. Wooyoung is looking for his person, his forever, his fated pair. San already turned him down, and Wooyoung accepts that if no one else does. Yeosang has gone on about San clearly liking Wooyoung and how he needs to do something about it, and Wooyoung hasn’t had the heart to tell his friend that San really isn’t interested.

Now, Wooyoung is thinking maybe he should have. He is approaching all too quickly, and San has finally found Wooyoung in the crowd. San’s eyes soften as he makes eye contact with Wooyoung, his eyebrows cutely turning up in the middle and a pouty smile on his lips. Seeing San like this, soft and sweet, melts Wooyoung’s heart into a little puddle. 

“Hi,” Wooyoung says softly as he finally stands before San. 

“Hi, Wooyoungie,” San replies with a big smile. “I’m so glad it’s you. I had a feeling, and I hoped it would be, but I’m really glad I was right.” 

It's clear that San didn’t know who he was meeting tonight, either. Not knowing how Yeosang set this up, though, Wooyoung is more confused than ever at San’s statement. It must show on his face because San becomes hesitant, his brow furrowing.

“Um…this is from you, right?” San asks, holding out the folded piece of paper he has had clutched in his hand this whole time. Wooyoung takes it and unfolds it to see a letter written on the inside. 

Sannie,

You brighten my world just by being in it. I’ve never had the courage to tell you, but I love you.

I want to tell you in person. If you’re open to it, wear a kitten costume to the Halloween party. I’ll be in a witch costume. 

Find me there.

Sincerely, 

Your Love ♡

The letter doesn’t sound like Wooyoung at all, and he doesn’t ever remember writing it, but it’s in Wooyoung’s distinctive handwriting. 

Yeosang.

Wooyoung silently curses Yeosang and his entire bloodline for good measure, an embarrassed flush highlighting his cheeks as he reads over the short letter again. He’s just starting to think of ways he can get away with tar and feathering in the twenty-first century when the reality of the situation catches up to him.

‘I’m so glad it's you.’

That's what San had said, right? He had hoped this letter was from Wooyoung. Wooyoung really hopes it isn’t the alcohol messing with his sensibilities, because a thread of hope blooms in his chest. 

“Do you think we could talk about this somewhere more private?” Wooyoung asks hopefully. He makes sure to smile, attempting to set San’s mind at ease.

“Yeah, we can do that. C’mon,” San holds his hand out for Wooyoung to grab and then starts making his way to the stairs. 

San’s room is one of the last down the long hallway upstairs, and they have to trek past many a couple making out in the dark recesses of the hallway before they make it to the threshold. The room beyond is dark, save for the light from the LED strips lining the ceiling and the lava lamp on the full bookshelf to the side of his bed, both emitting light in purples and blues. San’s bed is pushed to the far right corner of the room, covered in a simple, black bed spread and multiple pillows and plushies. There’s a matching, soft, black rug across the floor that Wooyoung wants to sink his feet into. Posters line the walls, various music artists and one, endearingly, for an amusement park. A small desk with a laptop, textbooks, and various figurines sits along the wall connected to the entrance of the room. There’s a large bean bag in the other far corner of the room that has a divot in the middle, clearly well used. The room is neat, but clearly lived in. Cozy.

San pulls him into the room, heading towards the bed after closing the door behind them, effectively cutting off the noise of the party beyond. He turns the bedside lamp on before they sit together, facing one another on the bed, Wooyoung’s hand still in San’s. 

“So…” San trails off, a small smile on his lips and an excited gleam in his eyes as he looks at Wooyoung.

Wooyoung hedges, hesitant to explain what has happened to put them in this position. He never intended to tell San like this, or at all really, and he feels wholly unprepared. The hope that San’s feelings towards him have changed since freshman year propels him forward, though. 

For the second time tonight Wooyoung thinks, Here goes nothing.

“I didn’t write the letter,” Wooyoung admits. San’s reaction is quick, snatching his hand away as soon as Wooyoung says it, like he’s been burnt, a flash of hurt in his eyes. Wooyoung grabs the hand again immediately between both of his own, holding on while he explains, “Sannie, no, wait. Yeosang wrote it. I never told him about when you rejected me, I was too embarrassed, so he took matters into his own hands. He knows how I’ve always felt about you, and I think he was sick of me dancing around it for so long. I didn’t write that letter, but everything in it is still true.” 

San sits there staring at their hands for a moment too long for Wooyoung’s sanity. Did he read this wrong? Is San just trying to find a way to once again let him down gently? Wooyoung starts to pull his hands away when a full minute has passed with San saying nothing.

San holds on harder, looking up at him. He’s surprised to see San’s eyelashes are stuck together by the wetness in his eyes, the low light of the room reflecting in them like starlight. 

“I’m sorry, I’m just confused. When did I ever reject you? I’ve been in love with you since I met you,” San tells him incredulously. 

Relief, elation, and confusion flood Wooyoung’s body in equal measure. Relief, because he didn’t read anything wrong. Elation that San returns his feelings. But confusion, because how could San forget rejecting Wooyoung? He remembers it all very clearly. 

It was freshman year. 

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅

Wooyoung is nervous. He’s about to ask out a guy for the first time in his life, one of his good friends no less. If this goes poorly, he’s not sure what he will do. But he feels it with San, that connection. It’s odd, the feeling bone deep in him. He’s positive San feels it, too, and that’s why he’s willing to risk it. 

It’s chilly out, winter setting in. It has taken him a while to build up the courage, the end of the semester, in fact. Wooyoung and San just finished the final presentations for their speech class together, and have just left the building. They stand together out in the cold, just outside the entrance. 

“Walk me to my next class?” Wooyoung asks, hope in his voice. San usually does, but it's the end of the semester and San has no more classes, so he may just want to go home. 

“Of course,” San responds. “I always do.” He smiles at Wooyoung before holding his arm out, intending for them to loop arms as they make their way to Wooyoung’s class. The campus is beautiful during this time of year, a blanket of white currently from the unexpected snow they had gotten last night. Their breaths visibly puff out before them as they walk through the chill.

“I didn’t get to tell you before class, but you look pretty today,” San tells him, smiling sweetly at Wooyoung. He blushes at San’s compliment, a warmth in his cheeks and a pleasurable hum settling in his chest. 

Wooyoung dressed up nicely today, wanting to look good when he asks San out. He is in his usual dark colors, but he wears a pretty, black, puffy jacket that helps fight against the cold. The material has a multicolored sheen to it, like the Northern Lights lay across the expanse of the jacket. The hood is lined with black, faux fur, which matches his winter hat, gloves, and boots, also lined with fur. A black mini-skirt wraps around his waist, over a pair of black, sheer tights that show off his slender, but muscular, legs. 

“Thank you,” Wooyoung tells him shyly as he looks ahead, willing the blush on his cheeks to recede and the wildness in his chest to quiet. 

“Aren’t you a bit cold, though?” San asks, taking a glance at Wooyoung’s scarcely covered legs. He seems genuinely, endearingly, worried for Wooyoung. 

Wooyoung looks at him with a mischievous smile, and leans in conspiratorally to tell him, “Don’t worry, I have a bit of magic up my sleeve keeping me warm.” Wooyoung sends a wink San’s way, and it’s San’s turn to look away blushing. 

The genuine compliment and concern is just what Wooyoung needs to continue with his plan. “Sannie, there’s something I want to ask you,” Wooyoung says, looking down at their feet as they walk together. San is wearing boots, too, along with some baggy jeans and a puffy jacket as well. He also has cute ear muffs and gloves on. He looks warm. 

“Sure, what’s up?” San asks pleasantly.

Wooyoung pulls them both to a stop at the side of the walkway, wanting to look into San’s eyes as he asks. “Would you want to go with me to dinner? Somewhere nice, just the two of us?” Wooyoung asks him, looking up into San’s eyes through his eyelashes. 

“Oh, sorry. I can’t,” San tells him simply. He doesn’t elaborate, and Wooyoung is too hesitant to ask why. 

Wooyoung isn’t sure what to do. Maybe San didn’t understand him, maybe he didn’t catch on to what Wooyoung was telling him. He decides to be more straightforward. 

“I like you, San. A lot,” Wooyoung tells him, slightly breathless from the cold and his confession.

“I like you, too, Wooyoungie. I’m really glad we’re friends,” San tells him, smiling, his dimples out as he softly smiles at Wooyoung, his eyes nearly closed from the way his cheeks pull up.  

Wooyoung feels his heart drop to his feet.

San didn’t misunderstand, he’s just trying to be nice and let Wooyoung down gently. He rejected Wooyoung, not once, but twice. But…he’s offering a way out of this, too. Wooyoung is grateful to San, even through his heartbreak. They can still remain friends.

“I’m glad you’re my friend, too,” Wooyoung says, only slightly stiffly. He wishes they could be more, but if this is the way he can keep San in his life, then that’s ok. Wooyoung will be okay with it. He may need a bit of time, and now he’s thankful he decided to do this before Christmas break. It’ll give him the space he needs to work through this, and return to campus ready to be San’s friend. Just San’s friend.

“I…have to go,” Wooyoung tells him, smiling weakly. He tells San a small lie about remembering he needed to meet a friend before his exam, and waves San off when he offers to keep walking with him. Wooyoung can feel that all too familiar restlessness in his chest. If he doesn’t leave soon, he’s going to have a meltdown in front of the whole quad, and then nothing will ever be the same. 

If anyone sees the silent tears flowing down Wooyoung’s face as he walks away, they don’t say anything. 

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅

Wooyoung explains what happened— not in too much detail, San was there, too, after all. His confusion only grows at San’s bewildered expression, however.

The tears have cleared up from his eyes, but San sits staring at their still intertwined hands, looking like he’s in physical pain as he thinks. It’s a bit worrisome. 

“San?” Wooyoung asks gently. Freeing one of his hands to gently tilt San’s face up by the chin, hoping to get a better read on what’s going on in his head. He looks lost, and frustrated, his mouth opening and closing like he wants to say something but the words won’t come out.

Finally, quietly, he says, “I had no idea you were asking me out, that you were confessing. Oh my god, Youngie, I’m so dumb.” San sounds miserable, and he lets go of Wooyoung’s hands to bury his face in his own, clearly mortified. 

Wooyoung had gathered that it was clearly a misunderstanding at this point, seeing the utter confusion on San’s face. He still has to ask, though. “You’re not dumb, baby. But I have to know, how did you misunderstand? I thought I was pretty clear.” He doesn’t say it meanly, but with true curiosity and befuddlement. He needs to figure out where the disconnect happened.

San groans before telling Wooyoung, “I thought you were just asking me out to dinner as friends, and telling me you enjoyed my company!” He lifts his head out of his hands to look at Wooyoung. “I had pledge duties that night, so I couldn’t go out. I didn’t think you would ever like me, so it never even crossed my mind that you would be confessing to me. Oh god, Wooyoung.” San grabs his hands again, the most remorseful look on his face. “I’m so sorry, I must have sounded like such an asshat. I would have never rejected you if I had known you were confessing, I swear.” 

It takes Wooyoung a second to respond, taking in San’s explanation, but when he does, all he can do is laugh. San’s face is pure shock when Wooyoung makes eye contact with him, and it only makes Wooyoung laugh more. His shock turns to bewildered laughter though, and he leans into Wooyoung, then, the laughter shaking his frame. 

Wooyoung lays his cheek against the top of San’s head, attempting to talk through his remaining giggles. “Oh Merlin, how did we manage this?” Wooyoung asks San fondly. 

San looks up at him then, and Wooyoung’s breath catches. San looks dazzling, right now. The wetness still lingers in his eyelashes, but none of the sadness remains. His smile is out in full force, his dimples carved deep into the expanse of his face. The kitty ears were pushed back off his head when he leaned into Wooyoung and now his hair lays bare and fluffy. The lamplight seems to halo San as Wooyoung looks down at him, and before he can think too hard on it, Wooyoung leans down and kisses him. 

It’s not like the books where the love interest is too shocked to kiss back right away. San feels it too, it isn’t a surprise, he wants it just as bad as Wooyoung. It's clear by the way he kisses back immediately, sitting up to improve the angle and grabbing Wooyoung’s face between his hands. 

Wooyoung has kissed plenty of people in his life, but this…this is different. Life changing. Earth shattering. Soul settling.

The kiss starts soft, not in pressure but in feeling. It isn’t weak or breakable, but malleable, allowing them to form around each other. San’s lips slot against his so naturally it's like they have kissed a million times before this. Excitement thrums beneath Wooyoung’s skin, but so does the rush of love and joy. It really sinks in, during the kiss, that San loves him back, that they are really going to be together now. San is kissing him back right now, something he has only dreamed of the last two and a half years. 

Wooyoung can feel the tender care with which San handles him, his hands gentle on Wooyoung’s face. San keeps a respectful distance between their bodies despite the closeness of their kiss, and Wooyoung is dying to bridge the gap. Wooyoung may take the first step, gently moving forward towards San and having him lean back, clambering into his lap, but San takes the next three. It's like the floodgates have opened now that San knows Wooyoung wants to be close, and he lays back fully on the bed, his head resting against one of the many pillows. There is no break in their kiss, so Wooyoung follows him down, losing his hat in the process, and now effectively sprawled out along San’s torso. San moves his hands first to Wooyoung’s waist to pull them closer together, lower halves flushed against one another, and then allows them to roam across the expanse of Wooyoung’s bare back in his dress. 

The kiss turns almost overwhelming, but in the best way. Wooyoung’s senses are flooded with San, his taste, his smell, his touch. His head nearly fogs over with the sensation, but his chest peculiarly feels settled. What is typically a raging tempest, hard to control and even harder to predict, feels like a calm sea now under San’s touch. Small waves crest through Wooyoung’s body, familiar and yet not. They are pulled gently by the gravity of the kiss, like the waves can do nothing but move under its influence. It reaches outwards towards something, something close and important and fated. It’s something Wooyoung has never felt before, and through all the sensations he is experiencing, he can’t quite put a name to it, until…

Poof.

Wooyoung coughs into a cloud of purple smoke, and realizes there is no longer a solid body beneath him. Waving away the smoke from around his face, he instead finds a small, periwinkle-colored kitten sitting on the pillow where San had previously been resting his head, looking mussed and confused. Wooyoung stares down at the kitten, completely dumbfounded for a second. Then, the realization hits. 

He gasps, a hand placed over his mouth. “Sannie! Stars above, you’re my familiar!” he exclaims. Wooyoung scoops the tiny kitty off the pillow, the little fluffball barely big enough to lay properly in his arms. “Oh, you’re so perfect,” Wooyoung says so incredibly gently as he buries his face into the soft, downy fur of the kitten’s back. 

The kitten, San, meows hesitantly, a small yowl escaping his tiny body.

Wooyoung’s eyes widen as he holds San out in front of him, his back paws dangling in the air as he’s held by his top half. “Oh Merlin! You’re probably so disoriented right now. C’mon, I'll help you out.” 

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅

It was only slightly difficult to get out of a raging frat house with a tiny kitten in his arms. Drunk girls were cooing at San relentlessly as Wooyoung tried to weave his way through the crowds, attempting to avoid any and all pets that people aimed San’s way. Thankfully, though, he had run into Seonghwa along the way.

Seonghwa had seen the tiny, purple kitten in his arms and his eyes had widened comically. Looking glorious in his Morticia Addams outfit, he had swiftly cleared the way for Wooyoung through the crowd, not asking any questions as he helped Wooyoung to the door. 

Now Wooyoung is making his way home in his slightly skanky outfit and a feline San in his arms. The walk to his apartment is even colder than it was three hours ago, if that’s even possible, and the alcohol blanket is not doing its job. The bundle of fur in his arms is a trembling mess, and Wooyoung can't handle allowing San to shiver like this. It’s early in the morning, and no one is around, so Wooyoung figures he can risk a little magic out in the open. 

Snapping his fingers, purple sparks fly from his hand, transforming into a shiny golden sheen that envelopes them before melting into their skin. Heat immediately encapsulates them, warming all their frozen extremities. San looks up at him from where he was curled tight against the cold in Wooyoung’s arms, his kitten eyes wide and wondering. Wooyoung chuckles fondly at the sight, giving a little scratch behind San’s ears. 

“I know. Pretty cool, isn’t it?” Wooyoung asks, a bashful yet happy smile on his lips. 

Revitalized by the warmth, they make it back to Wooyoung and Yeosang’s apartment in record time. The lock of the door clicks open upon Wooyoung’s touch to the doorhandle, and the door swings open seemingly by itself. Stepping over the threshold, Wooyoung quickly kicks off his heels at the door and heads through the small hallway into the expanse of the open concept apartment. It's brightly lit when he walks in, the lights triggered by the door opening. The bright white of the overhead light reflects off the bland surfaces of the apartment, hurting Wooyoung’s eyes as they try to adjust to being inside once again.

Wooyoung groans a bit, squinting into the light. “Lemme drop the glamor real quick,” Wooyoung says. He waves his hand, purple sparkles seemingly flowing from his fingertips and spreading out over the space before them. 

What once was a plain, sparsely decorated apartment in light beiges is now rumbling with activity and colors. Every surface seems to have something on it, whether its potion bottles, ingredients, plants, or some other innocuous, magical item. The walls are a deep purple and the floors a dark wood. A chandelier hanging in the living room lights the space in warm hues, along with the sconces along the walls that are lit with colorful flames. 

The apartment is in motion, too. Small things move on their own--- a cloth cleaning the kitchen counters as dishes rinse themselves in the sink and put themselves in a drying rack, a broom that seemingly pretends to sweep looks to really be dancing to the music on the record player, which turns itself. A large, black cauldron floats in the corner of the kitchen, under which a green tinted fire blooms and allows the pot to be bubbling with something distinctly pink. 

“Merlin, I wish Mangi was here. He’s actually the potions master of the group, so he’d have this made in no time,” Wooyoung speaks as he carries San into the apartment, setting him gently on the couch in his living room before heading to the kitchen to scour the shelves. “He’s also the only one who can ever read our old coven leader’s handwriting, so it might take me a second to make this.”

Wooyoung grabs a large tome from one of the many overflowing shelves in the kitchen and brings it to a small table near the cauldron. He splays it out and starts flipping through pages to find what he’s looking for. 

“Ah-ha!” Wooyoung exclaims after a couple minutes of searching. “Here it is. Oh good, it's really not that difficult of a potion. You’ll be back to your typical form in no time, Sannie!”

Bustling around the kitchen, Wooyoung starts gathering all the ingredients he needs for the potions in his arms. He grabs a few items from the shelves, various bottles and satchels that contain dry and wet ingredients alike. He then goes to the fridge and pulls a handful of bottles from there, as well. With his arms full, he heads back to the small table next to the bubbling cauldron and dumps the contents there. 

He looks into the cauldron then, just realizing there was something in it, and makes a noise of surprise. “Oh! This must have been whatever Mingi put in my drink tonight to make it taste so good. I’m glad he got the cauldron back to me after borrowing it for so long, but I wish he would have cleaned it out first,” Wooyoung says with a pout. “He’s always leaving his messes behind, he’s lucky Yunho is usually there to remind him to clean up. Hold on, baby, I need to make sure to bottle this up real quick and save it. It will only take a second. I’ll need to make a note to ask Mingi for the recipe, too.”

As he talks, Wooyoung casually flicks his fingers around, causing the glass bottles from one of the many shelves to dance in the air towards the large cauldron, and for a pen to start writing a reminder on the sticky notes on the fridge. The potion from the cauldron streams into the floating potion bottles, not one drop wasted or spilled, leaving the cauldron sparklingly clean and ready for the next potion. The bottles then find their corks and realign themselves on the shelf they originated from. Throughout the process, Wooyoung was simply twirling his fingers absentmindedly, reading the page in the large tome over once again. 

In the relative quiet (or as quiet as an apartment in motion can be) Wooyoung hears a small meow sound, but from much closer than he expected. Looking away from the grimoire, Wooyoung notices Sannie in all his adorable kitteness at Wooyoung’s feet. 

“How did you get all the way over here without me noticing, silly?” Wooyoung asks. As if in response, San meows gently again and uses his tiny foot to paw at Wooyoung. Wooyoung coos at him, “Aw, baby. Do you want to see what I’m doing? Hold on!” Wooyoung waves his hand and a black apron emerges from a closet and drapes itself over Wooyoung’s shoulders, tying by itself behind his back. Wooyoung then picks the tiny kitten up and places him gently in the front pocket of the apron, so his front paws hang over the front. “Now you have a front row view!”

With the closeness of San in his familiar form, a calm settles in Wooyoung’s chest where his magic is typically fraught with excitement. Wooyoung stills in wonder for a moment before resuming his work. Grabbing a mortar and pestle, he begins grinding ingredients, consulting the grimoire after adding each ingredient to the cauldron. Various sounds and colors come from the cauldron as the potion is mixed, and Wooyoung is only slightly nervous as he continues to blend each ingredient together. 

“Alright, I just have to say the spell over it now, Sannie. Let me put you on the table so you’re ready for when it’s done,” Wooyoung says as he grabs San out of the pocket. He lays San’s small body down on the table, and the kitten curls up in a ball, his eyes watchful as they peek out of the fluffball. From this angle, Wooyoung can finally study San’s form in decent lighting. His fur is a light lavender color, with white patches on his cheeks, paws, and tip of his tail. There are even small, heart shaped, white patches that lay beneath his tail, right on his butt. Somehow, San’s form now carries the same sweet face that his human form has. Wooyoung coos at San, giving him small scratches on the top of his head. “Try to lay still, okay?”

With that Wooyoung starts to chant over the cauldron, his hands raised over the top of it. The language he is speaking is ancient, something that he isn’t even sure he necessarily understands but can at the very least read. Purple sparks begin to fly from his fingers, and the contents of the cauldron briefly light on fire as Wooyoung finishes the spell. The flare of fire catches San and Wooyoung by surprise, and they both jump at the same time. 

Wooyoung looks over at San, giving a sheepish smile. “Whelp, I hope that’s what was supposed to happen,” he mutters. At San’s affronted mreowl, it's clear he heard what Wooyoung said. “Don’t worry, Sannie! You’ll be back to your human form in no time!” Wooyoung assures. He then gestures to the cauldron and the contents of it floats up, not quite liquid nor solid, and allows the magic potion to coat San. Once again, a puff of purple smoke envelopes San’s form, and suddenly there are jean covered legs dangling from the edge of the table. 

San, now in his human form, sits perched on the edge of the table. He is still in his outfit from the party, the jeans and fluffy, purple sweater returning with his human form. 

“Oh, thank Merlin! I was only slightly worried your clothes wouldn’t come back with you! How are you feeling?” Wooyoung giggles nervously. His gaze then travels up to San’s face, and he meets San’s wide eyed gaze. He then notices that San’s hair has a distinct lilac tint to it, now matching his sweater. “Sannie! Oh, your hair is so pretty now. Let me get a mirror for you!”

Wooyoung magicks a mirror into his hands, his favorite handheld one that looks like it came straight out of a Victorian period drama. He holds it up for San to look at himself, and San leans in slightly to take a glance in the mirror. His eyes are still wide as he looks himself over, and he doesn’t say anything.

“This happens to a lot of familiars, they take on some aspects of the animal form,” Wooyoung explains hastily, worried at the response he’s getting. “If you don’t like the purple, Seonghwa can probably turn it back to your normal color. It might fade after a bit though so you’ll have to keep going back to him but it shouldn’t be too much hassle,” Wooyoung rambles.

Silence.

Wooyoung keeps babbling, almost nonsensically at this point, filling the silence with his nervousness. San is so deadly silent the whole time Wooyoung talks at him that Wooyoung is terrified of what might come out of his mouth next. He’s worried he has royally fucked this up, thrusting a life on San that he didn’t choose. Finally though, San speaks.

“Is…is that going to happen every time we kiss?” San asks, the first thing he’s said since he turned back from his kitten form. 

“You still want to kiss me?” Wooyoung asks, hopeful. 

“Of course,” San says breathlessly. “But if I keep turning into a cat that might be an issue…”

“Oh!” Wooyoung exclaims. “Don’t worry! That really only happens the first time. From now on you’ll be able to change only when you want to. I should make sure to have Jongho and Yunho start showing you the ropes soon, they’ll know better than I will about the transformation process.”

“Okay…” San trails off, a confused look on his face. “I’m sorry. This is all a little confusing to me. What exactly are you? Are you a demon or something?”

“Wait…you don’t know?” Wooyoung asks, all lightheartedness gone from his voice, now. At San’s lost, and frankly panicked, look, Wooyoung curses. “I thought someone would have told you for sure, Mingi at the very least. I’m so sorry for not explaining earlier, San,” he apologizes. Grabbing San’s hands between his own, he leads his familiar to the plush couch in the living room and sits them down next to each other. 

“I’m a witch, San,” Wooyoung gently tells him, looking into his eyes earnestly. “Well, technically a warlock because I’m a man, but I think witch sounds cuter,” Wooyoung chuckles, trying to lighten the blow of a serious shift in world view for San. 

“Oh.” San blinks, clearly trying to come to grips with what he has just been told. He stays silent for a while, not looking at Wooyoung, not quite looking at anything. Just staring off into space while his face is set in a concentrated pout. “So,” he eventually continues, looking up at Wooyoung finally. “You turned me into a cat?”

“Oh, no! You weren’t turned into a cat,” Wooyoung says, not sure how to explain. He quickly continues at San’s incredulous look. “Ok, sorry, yes you were technically in the form of a kitten, but that was still you.” Wooyoung breathes out a frustrated breath, his cheekings ballooning up from the air. “It’s hard for me to explain this to someone who doesn’t really know magic. You’re what’s called a familiar, San. It is something innate to your being, to you yourself. The magic is woven through your DNA, but it isn’t awoken until your magic meets its destined match. That’s what happened when we kissed. I didn’t turn you into a cat, your magic awoke and it was the catalyst for your first transformation.”

“I have magic?” San asks, awed.

Wooyoung smiles, mostly relieved because San isn’t yet running screaming for the hills.

“Yeah! You won’t be able to use it as freely as I might, there are some natural limitations to your magic, but you will be able to perform spells. You’ll also be able to help me channel my magic, if you choose to do so. I don’t want to push this life on you if you don’t desire it,” Wooyoung tells him, wanting to be as heartfelt as possible in his explanation. 

San smiles softly at Wooyoung, squeezing the hand where his own still rests in Wooyoung’s grasp. “It’s a lot for me to take in, but that doesn’t mean I want to give up on you, on us. Plus, I think having magic might be pretty cool,” he says cheekily.

Wooyoung grins back at him, so relieved to have found his familiar in San. He’s waited a long time to find his familiar--- was worried he would never find him. When he was little, he would imagine what that fateful moment would be like, when he met the person that his magic mirrored and would find his life companion. Young Wooyoung would be ecstatic knowing San is that person, especially that San is the person he will hopefully spend his life with in more than one way.

“So…how do I change back into the kitten form?” San asks eagerly. 

“I don’t actually know,” Wooyoung says, blushing. “I don’t focus on transformation magic, that’s Seonghwa’s thing. We will need to talk to him and Yunho if you want to learn more about your magic, or maybe find a time to visit our home coven,” Wooyoung muses, staring off into space as he thinks of all the things he needs to set up for San if he’s serious about taking on the role as Wooyoung’s familiar. 

“Wait, wait, wait,” San says, holding up a hand. “Are Seonghwa and Yunho witches, too?” 

“Oh! Seonghwa is, but Yunho isn’t. Ok, hold on lemme explain our full coven,” Wooyoung says. He holds up one hand and begins counting off on his fingers. “Seonghwa, Hongjoong, Mingi, and Yeosang are part of my coven here. We branched off from our home coven when we came to college and decided to create our own. Hongjoong is our coven leader, just like he’s president of the frat,” Wooyoung explains. He holds up two fingers on his other hand. “Yunho is Mingi’s familiar, their magic has been intertwined since they were young kids. That’s a whole other story honestly, but he’s the most experienced when it comes to being a familiar because of that. He and Seonghwa hold small classes for Jongho, who we found out is Yeosang’s familiar last year. I’m sure once we tell them about you and I, they will be more than happy to start educating you on familiars as well,” Wooyoung tells him with a smile. 

San seems taken aback by this, surprised to hear that practically his whole friend group, and a large portion of his fraternity, are magical beings. “Wow…” he says. “I’ve known you all for three years. How could I have missed this?”

Wooyoung grimaces. “I don’t think any of us were intentionally hiding it from you, at least not on my part. I truly thought you knew, figured Mingi might have told you considering you two are so close. In general, we try to keep to ourselves and hide as much as possible from the public, so we fly under the radar quite a bit. In many ways I’m not surprised you didn’t notice,” Wooyoung explains, hoping to calm the storm he can see brewing behind San’s eyes. This kind of change is a lot to handle from the person you’ve fallen for, let alone having your entire social circle now feel like strangers. 

Thankfully, San seems to take to his explanation well, the rising unease in his expression melting into more curiosity. He looks back to Wooyoung from where he’d been staring off into space. “So, do Seonghwa and Hongjoong not have familiars, then?”

“They do, just not human ones. Seonghwa’s is a small bunny named Dyeongbyeolie and Hongjoong’s is a crazy squirrel named Jjooongrami. I’d stay away from the squirrel if I were you, by the way, he’s a biter,” Wooyoung tells him, shuddering at the memory of a particularly vicious experience with the tiny creature when Wooyoung was young.

“So familiars aren’t always humans? And not always cats? The movies always show them as cats, so that’s why I figured that’s what I turned into…” San trails off, his curious eyes alight as he eagerly asks more questions. 

“Familiars can be almost anything--- human, animal, and other magical creatures alike. Seonghwa and Hongjoong found their familiars super young, as many people with animal familiars do. Human or other magical creature familiars tend to cross paths with their witches as they get older. Mingi and Yunho’s case is a bit odd in that regard.” 

Wooyoung smiles at the memory of Yunho’s first transformation. All of them were there for it except Hongjoong, who’s still upset about it to this day. Mingi had been getting bullied on the playground near their homes for quite some time, but no one had really known. That is until Yunho crossed paths with Mingi, seeing how some of the older kids were taunting Mingi as he waited on the swingset for the rest of his friends to meet him at the park. The older kids were pretty terrified of Wooyoung, being the crazy eyed kid that he had been, so Mingi’s friends had never seen this happen. It took Yunho all of thirty seconds hearing the mean words from the other kids mouths before he was running them off, scaring them with his already impressive height. He had run back to Mingi just as Wooyoung and the rest of their group had arrived. It was just in time for them to witness Mingi crying his eyes out and throwing his arms around Yunho in thanks, his magic a bit out of control with his emotions, and immediately having Yunho poof into a pink cloud of smoke. 

“And yes, familiars can be other animals. The movies get some things right, but far more things wrong. Your familiar shape is tied to both who you are inherently as a person and your shared magic,” Wooyoung clarifies. “Yunho is a golden retriever. Not only does it match his pure puppiness as a person, but his familiar shape brings a lot of comfort to Mingi as well. Jongho is a baby grizzly bear.” At this, San lets out a chuckle. “I know, it’s perfect, right? But he has never grown, so we believe he will stay the size of a baby bear forever. The bear represents him as a person, and the cuteness of the forever small size fits Yeosang really well.”

“No wonder I’ve never seen Yunho’s roots…” San muses, commenting about what he didn’t realize was Yunho’s naturally blonde hair. “That does make sense, though, I’ve always liked cats a lot. Did you know your familiar would be a cat?” San asks, peering at Wooyoung with such sweet curiosity in his wide eyes, his eyebrows raised as he listens to Wooyoung tell him more about his world.

“I didn’t know I would have a familiar at all, to be honest,” Wooyoung says, relief clear in his words. “It doesn’t happen for everyone, and I guess I have always had a cynical outlook on life, because I figured I would just never find that companion. But…yes, I definitely knew if I were to have a familiar, it would be a cat. I’m so glad I’ve found you, San,” Wooyoung tells him, emotion leaking into his words. “It’s something I think you will learn, as you get to know my - our - world better, but familiars are incredibly important to witches. My magic has always been…somewhat erratic at times. Familiars are meant to help channel that magic, to guide us to find sense in the chaos of it.” Wooyoung thinks about how his magic felt when it touched San earlier. “You’ve already settled it for me so much without you even knowing,” Wooyoung tells him, looking at San as he holds his familiar’s hand to his chest. 

“Can I kiss you, again, please?” San asks, clearly overwhelmed with emotion at Wooyoung’s words. 

Wooyoung nods, hypnotized by the deep desire in San’s eyes.

San surges forward, capturing Wooyoung’s lips for the second time tonight. Once again, the kiss is overwhelming in all the ways Wooyoung craves, completely enveloped in San. This time, however, the kiss doesn’t start gently. They want this, wholeheartedly, and it is all too apparent with the eagerness in which their lips meet. This kiss is one that Wooyoung knows will lead somewhere else, is already starting to, so he pulls back quickly. 

“Do you wanna come to my room?” Wooyoung asks breathlessly.

“Yes, please,” San responds eagerly, already standing and dragging Wooyoung off the couch. 

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅

San and Wooyoung lay curled together on the bed, and Wooyoung traces small patterns with his pointer finger on San’s chest. They’re both naked, sweaty and sticky, but neither of them are wanting to move. 

Around twenty minutes later, Wooyoung is just starting to fall asleep on San’s chest, sticky bodies and all, when San starts to move. He had clearly fallen asleep beneath Wooyoung for a bit, his breathing having evened out and deepened, but is now once again awake. Wooyoung grumbles at his movement, and feels San chuckle beneath him.

“Baby, we need to get cleaned up before we really fall asleep,” he tells Wooyoung quietly, whispering to him gently and rubbing his back. Wooyoung buries his face further into San’s chest and ‘hmphs’ noncommittally. 

San begins to wrap the comforter snugly around Wooyoung, then gently rolls him to the side so San can wiggle out from under him. Wooyoung, now completely wrapped up and nearly purring himself from the comfort, peeks his eyes out of the blanket to watch San in all his naked glory walk to the bathroom attached to Wooyoung’s room. Of course he ogles as San walks away, and a surprised giggle escapes Wooyoung when he spots small, white hearts adorning San’s butt on each cheek.

Wooyooung hides his grin in the mound of blanket while San grabs a washcloth to wipe himself down, throws it in the hamper, and then grabs a fresh one to dampen and bring back to Wooyoung. Gently unraveling Wooyoung from the blanket, he starts tenderly wiping at his skin, cleaning Wooyoung up from their activities. Wooyoung feels much more refreshed when he’s done, but his slightly damp skin unfortunately starts to cool uncomfortably. 

“I’m all awake now,” Wooyoung whines, wiggling in his spot and starts to burrow under the covers again.

“Sorry, Wooyoungie. I didn’t want you to wake up uncomfortable,” San replies gently. He starts to walk back towards the bathroom to put the cloth in the hamper, but stops when Wooyoung huffs and waves a hand. The cloth disappears from San’s hand, startling him slightly, but then Wooyoung is dragging him back into bed and his surprise is immediately forgotten in lieu of cuddling Wooyoung.

“If only you could have used a spell like that and cleaned us up,” San muses, his tone lightly teasing.

“Oh, I definitely could have,” Wooyoung says mischievously.

“Then what did I get up for?” San asks, pouting as he looks at Wooyoung.

“I like you taking care of me,” Wooyoung tells him shyly. San stops his pouting, then, and his chest puffs up almost unconsciously as he brings Wooyoung back into his arms. 

“I’ll always take care of you, Wooyoungie,” San tells him reverently. 

Wooyoung looks up at San, then, deadly serious as he says, “I’ll always take care of you, too, Sannie. As my familiar, you will do so much for me in our lifetime, and it’s my duty to make sure you will always stay happy and healthy if you choose to remain by my side.” 

“I’ll always be happy if I’m with you, baby,” San tells him sincerely, his signature smile in place as he looks down at Wooyoung. With that, he gathers Wooyoung back in his arms and throws the comforter over them both, wiggling until they are both comfortable. Wooyoung lays sleepily across San’s chest, with San’s head on Wooyoung’s fluffy pillows. He isn’t quite on the edge of sleep, but he knows if they continue to lay here he will be there soon enough.

“I know we just had sex, and that was completely mind blowing, and you’re probably sleepy,” San starts, whispering to Wooyoung in the quiet of the early morning hours, “but I also still have so many more questions.”

Wooyoung huffs out a short laugh, endeared by San. He knows this has to be a crazy shift for San, knows his thoughts must be racing a mile a minute trying to wrap his head around a completely new world. But he is also sleepy, so he firmly, but sweetly, tells San, “One more question, then it's time to sleep.”

San lays seemingly in contemplation for a long moment, long enough that Wooyoung starts to drift again. Then he asks, “Are all familiars in relationships with their witches?”

Wooyoung hums thoughtfully, finding it sweet that San chooses this to be his one question. 

“They don’t have to be, but it does happen, as you can see with my coven,” Wooyoung tells him. “Familiars and their witches are linked by their magic, which is so inherent to their being that it can influence their soul. When so much of your soul matches another being, it makes it easy to fall into a romantic connection. Many times it happens first before we even realize that person is our familiar. That’s what happened with my parents, with Yeosang and Jongho, and with us, too.

“My dad is my mom’s familiar, he’s a great big, black wolf. Suits my mom’s style well, and they fell in love along the way. My older brother’s familiar, though, is a man, and they’re both straight, so they don’t work romantically. His familiar is his very best friend, though, and I think they are simply platonic soulmates,” he explains sleepily.

Wooyoung can feel San hum beneath him, seemingly contemplating what he has said. Something occurs to Wooyoung then, though he’s not sure why, but he knows he has to say something to San, knows he needs to apologize. He turns his head to face San, and sees him watching the ceiling in quiet contemplation. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t the one to bring it up, to tell you. I’m sorry it had to be Yeosang,” he whispers to San. 

San makes a confused noise. “What do you mean?” he asks as he looks back down at Wooyoung.

“That I love you,” Wooyoung says simply.

San grins widely at him, not even tiredness dimming the shine of it. “I don’t care how we got here, I’m just glad we made it. It could never upset me to know you love me back, no matter how it was told to me. I love you so dearly, Wooyoung.” 

His sleepy words reassure Wooyoung, and the frantic feeling in his heart simmers down as he lays back on San’s chest. He begins tracing patterns there once more with his index finger.

They begin to idly chat back and forth about things that don’t really matter, their brains too fuzzy with sleep to hold onto something of substance. It’s around five in the morning at this point, and they are both exhausted. They seem to quiet down together, both realizing it's time to sleep even though they both are enjoying their quiet discussion. 

Wooyoung is on the edge of sleep, resting against San’s chest, when San pipes up once again, his voice deep and gravely from fatigue. “I have so many questions, Youngie.” Wooyoung can tell he is pouting when he says it.

He slaps San’s chest lightly, no force behind it, nearly asleep once again. 

“Just sleep. We have all the time in the world for questions.”

With that, they both fall asleep wrapped in one another.

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅

6 months later…

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅

soulmates

sannie baby

baby where are you?

wooyang

sorry! class went longer than usual and then someone needed help on our routine

ill be there in 10!!

love you!!

sannie baby

no worries!

love you too ≽^•⩊•^≼  

‧₊˚ ☾. ⋅

Wooyoung walks through the front door of the ATZ house. It's always a bit weird seeing the house during daylight hours, the relative quiet and cleanliness so unlike how it is during the insane parties the frat throws. He navigates up the stairs to one of the rooms on the left of the main upstairs hallway. The door is labeled “Seonghwa,” and though Wooyoung cannot hear any voices beyond, he knows San, Seonghwa, and likely Yunho are all already there. He smiles to himself when he opens the door. 

To anyone across the threshold, to anyone not invited into the room, the space beyond looks like the typical college boy’s room (albeit a little cleaner considering this is Seonghwa’s room and all). Once invited in, however, it transforms, much like Wooyoung’s own apartment does. The room darkens, red adorning the walls, dark wooden furniture and floors, tomes and scrolls on nearly every surface and a wide open space in the middle for training. There is no longer a bed in the room, because why would he need one? He sleeps in Hongjoong’s bedroom every night, anyway, allowing for his allotted room to be the center of their coven’s training. Even Seonghwa seems different here, his form more ethereal, allowing his distant fae ancestry to shine through in close company. 

The glamour on the room is incredible, and Wooyoung is always a bit smug when entering it. He painstakingly created this glamour himself, before they found out San is his familiar, so it fills Wooyoung with great pride to see a successful show of his magic. 

Light confusion melts over Wooyoung when he enters the room, though, and only sees Seonghwa, his back turned to Wooyoung as he rummages through things on one of the tables, mumbling something about covenmates and tidiness. His confusion is short-lived, though, when Mingi pops up behind him, walking across the threshold to the room. He is holding San in his hands, and a big golden retriever follows on his heels. 

San starts to squirm in Mingi’s hands the minute he sees Wooyoung, and Wooyoung immediately scoops him up and cradles him in his arms, cooing at the still incredibly small kitten. A light puff of purple smoke emerges from San, much more controlled than it used to be, and suddenly Wooyoung is engulfed in the muscular arms of his boyfriend.

“Hi baby,” San breathes out with his face in Wooyoung’s neck. The light puff of air tickles Wooyoung’s neck, but he keeps himself from squirming, not wanting San to move even an inch from his space.

“Hi,” Wooyoung says back on a light giggle, his love for San coursing through him just as strongly as it ever has. The giddiness of being able to call San his boyfriend hasn’t worn off, either, and he feels light as a feather in San’s presence. “You’ve gotten so good at transforming, my love.”

“Ok, you two. We are here for training, not PDA in the shared coven room,” Yunho teases. Wooyoung was so engrossed in San he hadn’t even noticed when Yunho also shifted back to his human form. 

“What’s on the docket for today?” Wooyoung asks, largely ignoring the PDA comment as he allows San to continue nuzzling into his neck affectionately. 

“We are going to teach San how to reach for your magic,” Seonghwa tells him, finally turning around and deigning to acknowledge the others’ presence in the room. 

Excitement courses through Wooyoung. The last six months or so of San’s training have mostly been dedicated to teaching San to control his own magic. It had started with training San to be able to control his transformation, and had slowly turned into teaching San how to reach for the magic within himself and start to cast small spells of his own. Wooyoung has been invited to many sessions during the last six months to observe and cheer San on, so it hadn’t occurred to Wooyoung that today would be any different, that today they would start their training together. 

Wooyoung looks at San with a big smile on his face, only to see San returning that smile tenfold. They have both been anxiously awaiting this day, and are almost too excited to speak. 

“What do we have to do?” Wooyoung questions eagerly, looking to Seonghwa.

“I’m going to have Mingi and Yunho take point on this one,” Seonghwa tells them. “Its a bit different for human familiars than it is animal ones, so they’re the best to teach you both.”

With that, Mingi explains that it’s best for the two to stand across from each other, holding hands. Mingi maneuvers himself behind Wooyoung, with Yunho mirroring him behind San, to help with further instruction and to monitor the situation. 

“Other than the first transformation, have you ever felt each other’s magic?” Mingi asks. 

“I’m…not really sure?” Wooyoung says hesitantly. He knows he’s felt the calmness of San’s presence in his own magic, especially when he’s in his familiar form, but he doesn’t think that is the same as when his magic first reached out. Nothing has felt quite as intense as that.

“Hmm,” Mingi hums thoughtfully. “Have you ever glowed intensely from San’s touch here?” At this, he spreads his palm along the very bottom of Wooyoung’s sternum, right where each witch’s magic sits in its most potent form in their bodies. 

Wooyoung blushes lightly, and San’s eyes widen a bit comically. It has happened a couple times now, but it's mostly when they are more intimate with each other, Wooyoung’s chest beginning to glow in the throes of passion or during the comedown after.

Wooyoung can see Yunho smirking behind San, and he knows that Mingi is likely wearing a matching one, the couple sensing the embarrassment of the other two. 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Mingi says, teasing. “That’s good, though,” he says more seriously. “That means that your magic has been naturally reaching for each other. That kind of reaction, the bright burst of light, is typically what happens between untrained individuals when their magic meets. Once trained, the light no longer accompanies the process, so it becomes a lot more discreet,” he explains.

“Ok, San. Start trying to reach out towards Wooyoung with your magic like we taught you,” Yunho instructs San. “Imagine your magic moving through you to reach your hands, and then reaching across the gap towards Wooyoung.”

“Wooyoung, for your part, gather some of your magic in your hands. You won’t always have to do this, but it’ll be easier the first time around if your magic is a little more reachable,” Mingi tells Wooyoung quietly as they both watch San close his eyes and furrow his brow in concentration.

Wooyoung does as instructed, and he feels some of his magic stream towards his fingertips, a process within himself so inherent and ingrained into who he is as a witch that it doesn’t even take a second to complete, barely even a thought to provoke it. He stops allowing it to flow just before it expels from his hands, allowing it to sit in wait for San’s magic. 

It takes a couple minutes, San concentrating hard, but then Wooyoung feels it. It’s a warm feeling, when San’s magic touches his own, and that same rush of calm overtakes and settles the tempest of Wooyoung’s magic. Wooyoung stares wide eyed at San’s face as he feels it, too. This is the first time Wooyoung gets to see the reaction of San feeling his magic, and he is amazed to find San staring reverently back at Wooyoung. They are both equally amazed at the feeling, though Wooyoung can’t be sure what San is feeling. San glances down in wonder at their hands. 

“He’s glowing,” San says, pouting instantly. San is right, Wooyoung’s hands are glowing where they are clasped in San’s. Faintly purple, the light emanates from Wooyoung’s hands and spiders up along his veins to stop at the base of his elbow, making it seem like Wooyoung’s skin dances with lightning. 

“That’s okay,” Yunho reassures San. “That’s to be expected for a little while. It took Mingi and I until the end of middle school to stop the glowing. With your age, it shouldn’t take nearly as long, and you’re already doing so well.” Yunho massages San’s shoulders, trying to get him to relax and allow the process to happen without tension. As San relaxes, the glow dims just barely, and he heaves out a sigh. 

“How does it feel?” Seonghwa asks, chiming in after observing everything so far. 

“Incredible,” San immediately replies, giving Wooyoung his widest grin, the one that Wooyoung loves so dearly. Seonghwa turns to Wooyoung to get his response, but he is still so in awe with the situation that all he can do is nod frantically along with what San has said.

“Good. It looks like your bond is already strong,” Seonghwa praises. “When Yeosang and Jongho started this process Yeosang’s whole body would light up like a star. Maybe the years of you being fools in love but strengthening your friendship helped to ensure this process would be smoother than it is for others,” Seonghwa muses, much to the chagrin of both Wooyoung and San.

“Ok, Wooyoung,” Mingi cuts in gently, “try a bit of magic. Something you would have needed more time with in the past because the spell wasn’t as stable.”

Wooyoung takes a deep breath and thinks. His magic feels so steady, he feels like he could cast just about anything right now, but he knows he should take it slow. Considering this, he decides to cast a glamour, one that he has been trying to get just right since he was a kid and first messing around with his magic in the most mischievous ways.

“I’m going to cast a glamour over us both. Ready?” he asks San, to which he gets a wide-eyed, eager nod in response. “Ok, here goes nothing.” Wooyoung then allows his magic to flow outward in that familiar spell. What would typically take minutes of concentration and a careful wrangling of his magic now instead flows instantly from his body, the glamour laying like a thin veil over both San and himself. Wooyoung opens his eyes wide, and looks at San with a giddy expression.

San, none the wiser to the glamour that was just put over him (still not quite able to detect the sight of more subtle magic) asks Wooyoung, “Did it work?”

“Let’s see, shall we?” Wooyoung asks roguishly, taking his hands out of San’s to turn to Mingi and wave them in front of Mingi’s face. It’s clear that Mingi can’t see Wooyoung despite the hand mere inches from his eyes, and Wooyoung turns back to San triumphantly. “I think it did!”

San stares in wonder at Wooyoung’s demonstration before turning himself to Yunho and doing the same that Wooyoung did. “What did you do?” San asks, amazement in his voice as he continues to wiggle in place cutely in Yunho’s face. 

“I cast an invisibility glamour on us. It’s one I have tried perfecting over the years, but it hasn’t been so easy to cast as it was just now. We should remain invisible until one of us calls it off, and the glamour is soundproof, so they won’t be able to hear us either,” Wooyoung tells him, speaking quickly with barely concealed excitement. “Considering they aren’t responding, that means they really can’t hear us, which is so much better than my last iterations of this. Usually the sound underneath the glamour is merely muffled, not completely soundless!”

“That’s so cool!” San exclaims, every bit as fascinated by this new piece of information as Wooyoung is excited to share it. He reaches up a finger before Wooyoung can stop him, though, and pokes Yunho in the cheek.

“Yah!” Yunho says suddenly, swatting the air where he thinks San might be, missing entirely. “No touching when I can’t fight back!” 

San jumps back and looks at Wooyoung sheepishly, to which Wooyoung only cackles. “It doesn’t stop them from feeling our touch, unfortunately,” Wooyoung says through giggles. “I can only muffle so many senses at once.”

San moves towards Wooyoung then, grabbing both his hands between his own, and gives him a look of such endeared fondness that Wooyoung has trouble catching his breath. “This is amazing, Wooyoungie,” San tells him sincerely, moving one hand up to cup Wooyoung’s cheek. “You’re amazing,” he says, before kissing him delicately. Wooyoung moves his hands to lay them on San’s chest, leaning in to deepen the kiss.

When they pull back from each other, Wooyoung giggles lightly. “This is so much better than when I used to use this glamour to steal my brother’s toys when I was younger,” Wooyoung tells San conspiratorially.

San laughs at this, looking fondly down at Wooyoung again, caressing his cheek with a thumb.

“My mischievous witch,” San says to him lovingly.

“My sweet kitty,” Wooyoung responds, kissing him again.

fin.