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Wooyoung ran through the rain, practically breathing in water from the icy deluge.
The sidewalk was cold beneath his paws as he bounded through puddles that further soaked his fur that was already matted to his body. He sneezed water out of his nose, glaring through the sheets of rain to look for shelter.
The rain had snuck up on him in the late evening, soaking everything without mercy. It was now nearing midnight, and Wooyoung was trying to make it home, but it was too cold to do much but search for a place to take shelter.
Every shop and window was shut tight- dark and blending in with the night around him, making it look like he was simply running through a void.
He tumbled through a puddle, shivering as his tiny body was assaulted by icy needles as he shook off the water that was only replaced by the storm from the sky.
He took a step stiffly, feeling like he was losing sensation in his paws-
He froze. There.
Standing like a lighthouse among a raging sea, Wooyoung saw the gentle light of a shop still glowing, further down the street- barely a speck in the darkness. But Wooyoung ran for it, shivering violently as he prayed that there was a way in.
He’d hate to have to resort to breaking windows.
As he approached, he made out a few features of the shop that was tiny and squished between two others that nearly swallowed it. There was a single window, beside the door, allowing a warm glow to flow out in an attempt to penetrate the rain.
Wooyoung paused for a moment in the bath of warm light, staring up at the window whose sill was overgrown with vines and flowers spilling over, soaked and hanging low onto the ground.
The window was, however, open.
Wooyoung didn’t hesitate, leaping up from the ground to land on the sill beyond the flowers-
What he had not seen from the ground were the three bowls sitting and collecting the rain that nearly made it into the shop.
His body landed on the middle one- both him and the bowl clattering to the ground inside the shop with a startled yowl.
Water splashed on the ground as the plastic bowl made a loud noise against the warm wooden floor. He lay there for a moment, smarting, before realizing what a racket he had made. He lifted his head quickly, staring at the puddle of water- both from the bowl and dripping from his fur.
Even as he panicked slightly, he felt the warmth of the shop seeping into his bones.
It was lit in all warm lighting- only given off by candles set up along almost every surface. The walls were covered in vines and flowers like those in the window- but the ones inside seemed to sparkle and shimmer, as if made of jewels.
There were work benches along the wall, and a table near the center with a couch- every flat surface holding swells of books, scrolls, bowls, vials, and a single large cauldron that was emitting a gentle steam in front of a roaring fireplace.
Wooyoung felt his haunches relax. A witch lived here.
Now, whether it was a forgiving witch or not, that remained to be seen.
And see he did, when someone suddenly entered the room swiftly, glancing around for the cause of the commotion.
A young man entered the room, scanning around with a curious eye, before landing on Wooyoung and the bowl. Surprise overtook his countenance for a moment, and Wooyoung waited, holding his breath.
Already, he could feel the air of the shop shifting around the boy dressed in dark clothing, his hair messed and three of his knuckles wrapped in small white bandages.
The witch’s shock faded quickly, though, into something softer and endeared.
“Hello there,” he said, voice shockingly quiet and gentle as he approached slowly, trying not to spook Wooyoung. “Did you mess up my rainwater collections?” he asked quietly, squatting down near Wooyoung.
Wooyoung meowed quietly, standing out of his little puddle, still dripping water. He was apologetic about that, but it wasn’t his fault.
The witch smiled quietly, extending a hand towards him and clicking his tongue gently to coax him forward.
Wooyoung saw nothing wrong with the shop, and the air movement around the witch was warm and gentle. He sensed nothing evil in this place. So he stepped forward slowly, pressing his nose against his warm hand, smelling him closer.
He smelled of berries and flowers. Specifically, gooseberries and daffodils. A luck potion? When the witch laughed quietly, Wooyoung dropped his head, rubbing against the hand as a sign he could continue.
“Were you out in that rain all this time?” he asked gently, petting Wooyoung’s sopping head. He cooed quietly as Wooyoung stepped closer. “Let’s get you dried off, shall we?”
Gentle hands picked Wooyoung up, uncaring of the water that immediately wet the witch’s shirt as he was carried across the room and through a door.
The shop was tiny, but the room beside it was even tinier- a bed, bath, sink, and toilet all placed around a single room, but it was warm and cozy, and Wooyoung felt the urge to leap into the soft looking bed and curl up.
He merely grabbed a towel from a rack and a blanket from the edge of the bed before returning out into the shop.
Before the fireplace, there was a rug placed, woven in dark reds and blues. The witch sat cross legged on it, the heat of the fire making Wooyoung purr in contentment as he was wrapped in the towel that gently worked the water out of his fur.
“Poor thing,” the witch tisked. “Who let you out in this weather? How long were you looking for shelter, hm?”
Wooyoung merely closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the towel and the quiet lilt of the man’s voice.
“Ah, you do have a collar,” he hummed quietly, a single finger holding up the little tag around Wooyoung’s neck. “Wooyoung,” He read off of it. “Hm. You couldn’t put an address or something with it?” he chuckled.
Wooyoung merely chirped unhelpfully, making the witch chuckle.
“Well, Wooyoung, I’m Yeosang,” he said, finally drawing away the towel. He carefully set the blanket down in front of the fire, turning it into a nest that he placed Wooyoung within. He fixed it so that Wooyoung was wrapped up in the soft, warm blanket cocoon.
Wooyoung’s eyes immediately closed- feeling like a little loaf of bread keeping warm, gentle purrs breaking the silence that fell as Yeosang watched him in quiet amusement.
A gentle finger carefully stroked the top of his head soothingly.
“Well, you can at least stay the night,” Yeosang murmured quietly, standing at length. “We wouldn’t want you getting sick, now would we?”
Even as Wooyoung began to drift in the soft warmth, he heard Yeosang continuing to move around the shop, humming to harmonize with the gentle bubble of the cauldron. It was built with the gentle tinkle of glass knocking against each other, and the bass line was the thunder that continued to roll outside the shop.
Wooyoung fell asleep to the symphony of the shop, his purrs nothing but an accent to the practiced performance he had entered into.
~~~~~~~~
Wooyoung awoke to the scent of baked fish, his head immediately popping up from the wreath of blankets around him, still bleary from sleep.
He heard a gentle voice chuckle. “I thought that would get you up.”
He looked up and saw a small plate of steaming fish placed on the floor and Yeosang squatting beside it, smiling gently at Wooyoung.
He was dressed in reds and whites today- a long shirt and dark pants that hugged him as he knelt.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked as Wooyoung stood, his stomach practically begging for the food he began to devour. Another amused chuckle as Yeosang stroked his head again, scratching behind his ear gently. “You’re a cute guy,” he chuckled.
Wooyoung finished the food, chirping up at Yeosang as he glanced around the shop that seemed different during the day, but no less warm and eclectic in the way witches always were.
But, through the open window, he saw clear blue skies as residual water went drip… drip… drip… from the sill. The plants covering the shop seemed to shimmer with morning dew, like a thousand crystals.
Wooyoung knew he should probably head home…
But Yeosang beat him to it, picking up the little plate. “I bet you have to get going, don’t you?” he hummed, setting the plate aside.
Wooyoung meowed, almost like an apology, as he approached, bumping his head against Yeosang’s ankle and walking between his legs as a thank you.
Yeosang bent and pet him gently once more with an almost sad smile. “Come back and visit, yeah?” he asked.
Wooyoung rubbed against one of his bandaged fingers, smelling thyme and rosewater. A growth potion? He was a witch that worked with variety, apparently.
But Wooyoung walked to the little window that no longer held those bowls, hopping up and glancing back.
Yeosang waved at him, smiling but regretful.
Wooyoung idly wondered if he was lonely here. But he merely chirped once more and leapt down from the window sill onto the damp sidewalk.
~~~~~~~
Wooyoung returned to the shop only a few days later. But this time, he brought a present in return.
The window was open, as before, and it wasn’t raining this time, so Wooyoung assumed he was safe to leap up. He landed gracefully on the sill, gazing into the shop to ensure he wouldn't be interrupting.
Yeosang sat at the cauldron, staring into it as he stirred, brow furrowed in concentration. “Ah,” he whispered in triumph, jotting something down with his quill.
Wooyoung sat on the sill, surprised by how excited he was to be back, meowing quietly to gain attention.
Yeosang looked up sharply, his eyes already brightening at the sound as he saw the little grey-striped cat sitting in his shop.
“Wooyoung!” he called, standing and smiling as he went over swiftly.
Wooyoung chirped, leaping from the sill and up onto the table as Yeosang stroked his head gently. “You actually did come back,” he noted in quiet delight, gentle voice brightening. “And you-” He frowned at the little pouch held in Wooyoung’s mouth.
Wooyoung set it on the table, nosing it towards Yeosang, pleased when Yeosang rewarded him with another head scratch that made him purr in satisfaction.
Yeosang opened the pouch curiously, peering inside. “Mint leaves?” he questioned, frowning. “Why would you bring me mint leaves?”
They weren’t just regular leaves. Wooyoung chirped in the back of his throat as he drew a circle with his paw on the table, staring at Yeosang.
He glanced back at them, eyes widening. “Were these harvested on the full moon?”
Wooyoung meowed, rubbing his head against Yeosang’s idle hand that automatically came to pet him properly.
“Thank you,” he said earnestly, scratching his ear. “These are really useful…” His smile grew. “I’m glad you came back.”
Wooyoung noticed a small birthmark at the corner of Yeosang’s eye that crinkled with how hard he smiled. Wooyoung merely meowed gently and demanded more pats.
Yeosang was happy to provide, and Wooyoung was delighted to receive.
Maybe this would be a very nice arrangement.
~~~~~~~~
Wooyoung left.
And then he would come back. What started as every few days turned into a daily, short journey to the shop where he would hop into the open window (or paw at and meow annoyingly until it was opened for him).
Yeosang was always delighted to see him, a smile on his face as he gestured Wooyoung in.
Wooyoung would then merely keep Yeosang company.
Sometimes, resting in front of the fire, sometimes sleeping beside him as he worked on the cauldron, and sometimes sleeping across the books that he knew Yeosang needed, but Yeosang would never move him, simply stare as if trying to make him move with his mind.
Wooyoung would watch as Yeosang moved about, preparing potions and spells- clipping flowers from his wall and pulling down dried fruits and vials of glowing liquids. Wooyoung had sort of missed living with a witch.
Ever since Seonghwa had become a thing with Hongjoong, Wooyoung hadn’t had this sort of experience. And he’d admit that he missed it.
Wooyoung didn’t know if Yeosang had ever had a familiar or companion, but he acted as if it had been a while since he had had any sort of company.
He pet Wooyoung each time he passed, he fed him when he got hungry, he hummed and sang quietly (sometimes for fun, sometimes for the efficiency of the potion), and he would chat at Wooyoung, simply talking about life and the people who passed through.
Wooyoung would chirp and meow and purr to show his responses, which always made Yeosang laugh.
Wooyoung liked the days that Yeosang sang and laughed the best.
He didn’t like the days when potions went wrong and Yeosang would spend the day regretting the mistake he knew he made, lamenting the waste of ingredients and sighing about time limits he was reaching.
On those days, Wooyoung curled in his lap, purring until Yeosang stopped sighing and frowning, and began to chuckle gently as he stroked Wooyoung absently while restarting.
Neither of them really gave anything to the other- Wooyoung merely slinked around the shop, Yeosang merely continued about his day- but somehow, Wooyoung felt better than he had in a while, without even realizing that he hadn’t been feeling better.
~~~~~~~~
Most customers simply came in, made their request, and returned to pick it up and pay a few days later.
Yeosang was always polite and quiet while handling them- rarely more than one at a time.
But once, a woman entered with her daughter, and while the woman was speaking about prices with Yeosang, the girl was wandering and looking around the shop.
Wooyoung sat on the bench by the wall of flowers as the girl approached, smiling at him. “Aw, a kitty,” she cooed, reaching out to pet him.
Wooyoung didn’t quite feel like having that happen, but he didn’t nip at her in retaliation.
However, as her eyes drifted to the wall, her other hand reached up to pluck a jewel of a flower from the wall.
Wooyoung hissed, stretching up and biting at the hand still hovering near him.
She yelped, jerking away and dropping the flower as she cradled her hand. “Ow! Your cat bit me!” she snapped, turning to glare at Yeosang as Wooyoung licked his paw.
“He’s not my cat,” Yeosang said calmly, handing a piece of paper to the mother. “And those flowers are my ingredients, so taking one is stealing from my shop. Please keep your hands to yourself.”
She glared at Wooyoung whose hair stood on end, daring her to try something.
She huffed, turning and storming back to her mother. When they left, Yeosang laughed and pet him, rewarding him with another piece of fish. “Are you sure you’re not a guard dog?” he asked.
Wooyoung merely chirped and followed him as he sad down to read, hopping into his lap. Yeosang’s hand rested against his back- not petting, but just a warm weight.
Wooyoung fell asleep with quiet purrs of contentment.
Well, maybe something a little more than contentment.
~~~~~~~
“Do you really have nothing better to do than be at my shop?” Yeosang questioned one evening as Wooyoung was curled up on one of his books.
Wooyoung cracked open one eye to stare at him as Yeosang watched his tail flick around.
“You’re here nearly every day- mostly all day- but I don’t know where you go when you leave. I assume you go home,” he explained, shrugging. “Do you have nothing else to do?”
Wooyoung knew that it wasn’t Yeosang asking him to leave. But he was slightly miffed at the prospect of changing his routine, so he merely growled in the back of his throat as his tail swept an empty vial off the table.
It landed on the carpet without breaking, but Yeosang stared in disapproval. “Hey!” He stood, picking up and glaring at Wooyoung.
He was dressed in purples today. Mixed with dark black- a bit of a louder choice, but Yeosang always wore bold clothing. It was always fun to see what sort of crazy color he might put on that day. Some witches were so boring with how they dressed.
(Wooyoung didn’t think he’d ever seen Senoghwa in anything but black. However, Hongjoong had been like Yeosang- loud in his choice and flamboyant in his dress.)
It didn’t make his glare any less threatening, though.
However, Wooyoung merely meowed, settling back onto his book.
He heard Yeosang sigh quietly, placing the vial back. “I guess we’re both a little lonely, huh?” he murmured, scratching Wooyoung’s head gently.
Wooyoung merely purred, waiting for Yeosang to sit again before moving over to lay in his lap once more.
~~~~~~~
“No, you cannot have more fish,” Yeosang replied without looking at Wooyoung who was sitting and staring at him sternly. “You’ve already had enough.”
Wooyoung yowled in displeasure, glaring as best he could as Yeosang simply manned his potion.
“Cry all you want, you’ve had enough,” he said firmly, glancing up. “If I keep feeding you like that, you’re gonna get fat, and then how will you hop up on tables to annoy me?”
Wooyoung hissed slightly, but Yeosang merely chuckled.
Wooyoung’s tail struck the stoppered vial of lemon essence from the table, but Yeosang didn’t rise to the bait.
“I knew from the beginning that your sweet nature must be hiding a little bastard,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Wooyoung. “No more fish.”
Wooyoung chirped angrily.
“No.”
A yowl.
“Wooyoung, no.”
He nipped at Yeosang’s fingers that rested on the table, but Yeosang merely stared at him flatly.
“Wooyoung, if you bite me, I’ll turn you into a toad.”
Wooyoung opened his mouth and Yeosang’s eyebrows lifted in a warning.
“Wooyoung.”
He bit him.
And Yeosang jerked his hand away, hissing, but all it really proved was that Yeosang wouldn’t follow through on the threat, and did not turn Wooyoung into a toad.
He did shove him off the table, though, for which Wooyoung did not speak (meow, chirp, whatever) to him for several hours, over which, Yeosang muttered about cats with attitude problems.
He got his fish at dinnertime, though. So, technically, he won.
Yeosang sighed, a new bandage around his fingers as he pet Wooyoung idly. “How sad is my life that you’re the best thing that’s happened to me?” he huffed.
Wooyoung stopped eating slowly, glancing up at Yeosang.
Yeosang smiled, his eyes heavy with sadness, though. “Don’t look at me like that,” he chuckled. “You’ll make me feel sorry for myself.”
Wooyoung ignored the fish, sitting up straight, head tilted.
“It’s not anyone’s fault,” Yeosang assured him, rubbing Wooyoung’s ear comfortingly. “I work a lot… and you know, it’s hard to go out when you haven’t seen people in forever. Most of the people I know are witches, but they live farther away, so I don’t see them often… Everyone else are just customers.” He shrugged.
Wooyoung nuzzled into his hair gently, making Yeosang chuckle.
“So you won’t bite me if I make you feel sorry for me?” he chuckled.
Wooyoung nipped his finger gently, but it only made Yeosang laugh turn warmer. “I don’t know what spell or luck charm made you run into my shop during that storm… but I’ll have to thank whoever made it.”
Wooyoung, for once, ignored his fish, leaping down into Yeosang’s lap.
The shop was as warm as Yeosang’s laugh as he pet Wooyoung quietly. “See, even if you are a little bitch sometimes… you’re a big sweetheart.”
Wooyoung didn’t nip at him in retaliation. He merely purred until the felt the tension and sadness bleed away from Yeosang’s skin and voice.
~~~~~~~~
Things changed a bit when a potion went wrong.
Not just “forgot to add the rosemary” wrong.
But… a bad kind of wrong.
Wooyoung was napping on the bookshelf, and Yeosang was talking about his first ever spell he had done, voice light with peace and contentment.
Yeosang paused his story to mutter to himself. “And… turn clockwise twice and counterclockwise thrice while adding rainwater-”
Later, Wooyoung found out that he had grabbed rosewater instead.
In the moment, he just heard Yeosang gasp, the sound of a cauldron bubbling over, and Yeosang crying out in pain.
Wooyoung jerked awake as Yeosang stumbled back from the frothing purple liquid spilling over his table, clutching his arm that was burned red.
Quickly turning a poisonous color purple.
Yeosang’s knees hit the ground as he hissed through his teeth, Wooyoung getting to his feet and leaping down frantically, knocking over several things he didn’t care about off the shelf-
“Don’t touch it,” Yeosang gasped, removing his hand to hold it out in warning to Wooyoung. “Don’t- Get me lavender, Wooyoung,” He hissed, shifting away from the potion that was spreading off the table and onto the floor. “I need lavender-”
Wooyoung was already leaping up onto the table, racing across it to the closed cabinet.
Closed and locked with a little latch.
Without thinking, Wooyoung leapt down and changed, his booted feet hitting the ground as his hands flipped the latch and yanked the cabinet open, grabbing the lavender.
He leapt over the spreading mess, throwing down the lavender and hopping back to help Yeosang stand, practically picking him up to get him over the spreading potion.
Wooyoung set him on the other side of the shop, pressing the lavender into his hand as their two human bodies sat beside each other.
Yeosang crushed the plants in his fist, rubbing the little bit of scented liquid they produced onto his irritated skin as he tried to keep breathing evenly, pained breaths stalling in his chest.
Wooyoung waited, his heart caught in his throat and his hands hovering between them uselessly as he waited.
Potions going wrong were one of the most dangerous things a witch could do.
Messing up spells merely meant you might summon a demon and go through the hassle of banishing him. Potions exploded and burned and opened portals and grew-
Wooyoung didn’t know what exactly Yeosang’s mistake had done to the potion, but he stared at the wound fearfully, waiting for it to get worse.
But after what seemed like ages, Yeosang released a breath, relaxing- more like collapsing- back against the wall. The purple on his skin had faded, only leaving a slight red irritation that was also already fading.
Yeosang breathed heavily, Wooyoung still unable to move in horror, as Yeosang suddenly smiled at him in strained amusement.
“So, you finally decided to turn back?” he questioned, voice rough and strained, but still so gentle.
Wooyoung’s stomach dropped as he gazed down at his human body- clothed in grey and almost seeming foreign to him. “Yeosang, I can explain- I- I was-” He stopped, though, frowning. “What- What do you mean ‘finally’ ?”
Yeosang chuckled, a little pained, but genuine through and through. “Wooyoung, I’m a witch,” He managed weakly. “You think I can’t tell the difference between a cat and shapeshifter? Did you think I assumed you were just a really smart cat?”
“Well, I-”
Well… Wooyoung didn’t know what he thought. But he grimaced. “I wasn’t trying to hide from you,” he said firmly. “I- I just… liked what we had going. It never really even occurred to me to… to change back.”
Yeosang’s smile was still pained, but the strain was leaving as his skin returned to its normal pale color. “I’m not upset,” he chuckled. “I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want to pressure you. Besides…” His smile was warm. “It felt nice… to be heard.”
Wooyoung’s stomach flipped.
Yeosang shrugged. “Nice to not have to… fight to speak. I liked the company without… everything else you usually need to have company. I think I needed that… for a while,” he confessed. “I think I needed a cat more than I needed a human, you know?”
Wooyoung’s heart did a weird thing even as he flapped his mouth uselessly. “I- I- Well, I mean, do you want the cat back? I changed to open the cabinet- but I- I can-”
Yeosang shook his head, though, looking even more amused. “I… I don’t think I really need a cat or a human anymore,” he murmured, eyes bright. “I think I just like having Wooyoung around.”
By all the gods, was that his heart giving out?
Wooyoung was pretty sure your heart wasn’t supposed to feel like that.
“I like having you around,” Yeosang confessed.
“I like being here,” Wooyoung assured him quickly. He glanced at the skin of Yeosang’s arm that was now clear. “I… You weren’t the only one… who was lonely, I think.”
Yeosang chuckled as he sat up with a groan, Wooyoung quickly leaning to help him.
Wooyoung had sort of been going it alone for the past few months. He used to hang around Seonghwa, but it was sort of his own choice to go, mostly because he knew that he needed to move on. He wasn’t forced to, and for a while being alone was what was best for him.
He didn’t know when it had stopped being best.
But he knew that coming into this shop, warm and welcomed, not needing to do anything but exist in quiet nature with someone who simply treated him as something that belonged…
It was a nice feeling. One he had missed.
He really liked being here.
He liked being with Yeosang.
“Well, we should clean this up,” Yeosang decided, getting to his feet with Wooyoung’s help. “And then you can buy me lunch.”
Wooyoung nearly dropped Yeosang as he gaped. “What?” he demanded. “Why me?”
Yeosang grinned at him, that birthmark by his eyes crinkling. “To make up for all the fish I got you.”
Wooyoung’s mouth opened to fight, almost instinctively going to hiss, but then he closed it, frowning. “Fine,” he agreed. “But only if I get to keep coming here.”
Yeosang snorted, waving a hand as the potion began to clean itself up. “Why wouldn’t I let you keep coming?” he questioned. “But only if you agree to never bite me again.” He made an amused face. “It’s a little weird to think about now that I know what your human face looks like.”
Wooyoung scoffed in offense, but as the last of the potion was cleaned, he cleared his throat roughly, not meeting Yeosang’s eyes. “And… if I wanted to keep coming back… as a human sometimes?”
Because Wooyoung liked being here. But now that the cat was out of the bag (or… the human was out of the shapeshifting cat?) he wanted to… to be able to actually hold conversations with Yeosang, rather than just meowing at him.
Yeosang paused, glancing back at Wooyoung with a smile that made his blood feel warmer than any fireplace or blanket had. “You’ll be able to come through the door that way, instead of meowing at me all morning to let you in.”
Wooyoung laughed, and Yeosang did, too. The flowers on the way seemed to shiver, as if a breeze was blowing through, adding to the symphony that Wooyoung had joined.
“What do you like for lunch?” Wooyoung asked as Yeosang inspected any damage the potion caused.
“Chicken,” he answered without hesitation, glancing up. “I never eat it because it’s sad to just sit and eat by yourself.”
Wooyoung’s heart both squeezed and expanded at the same time- something like regret and something like hope warring inside.
“Well,” he said, shaking his shoulders like he was ridding himself of water. “You won’t be alone this time.”
It felt good to say.
And Yeosang’s quiet smile wasn’t aimed at Wooyoung, but rather at the books that his hand dragged over gently, slowly.
“No,” he agreed. “No, I don’t think I’ve been alone for a while now…”
Wooyoung’s blood rushed twice as fast as Yeosang came over, his quiet smile turning brighter as he pointed at Wooyoung, making Wooyoung lean back in surprise.
“But if we’re going, you have to fix that hair,” Yeosang said firmly. “You look like someone’s been giving you a cat bath,” he stated matter-of-factly, grinning as he blinked long lashes at Wooyoung.
Huh.
Up close and on-level with him, Wooyoung was suddenly very aware of how pretty Yeosang was, smiling and pale in the morning light filtering through the window.
So, Wooyoung did the only thing he could think of when a very pretty person was pointing their finger five inches from his face with such an offensive statement about his hair.
He bit him.