Work Text:
Wooyoung knew how to find magic in all kinds of places; In the little things that anyone else would pass by, unnoticed.
In the scrape of autumn leaves, following the wind along stone pathways.
In the dying warmth of a stove burner, with a heat that matched your mug perfectly.
In the way a weathered book sounded; The crackling that came along with opening it up, with spreading its binding apart for the first time, since the last time.
In the very first chill you’d notice, at the start of the cold season. The way it holds your ribcage like a greeting from behind. The way it’s familiar and welcomed, but eventually, will be wished away in favor of its warmer counterpart.
These little, tiny , easily ignored things held little, tiny traces of magic that Wooyoung had learned to see, appreciate , and take hold of. He was able to appreciate chaos in a way nobody else ever really did.
And maybe, that was why it chose to bend to him.
✴
He slowly taught San to see it too, the magic that lived in the smaller things. The shifter could already see and touch chaos like Wooyoung could- the next logical step was to show him everything he knew. Even if he couldn’t bend it, couldn’t utilize it; He could collect it. Gather it in cautious hands and bring it back home, eager to see what his witch would use it for.
Wooyoung was always surprised to see what San would bring him, what tiny magic-filled things he spotted, like seashells glinting in dull sand.
The list so far, save for a few more obvious things, included; One brightly colored ribbon, once weaved into an owl's nest, now brought back home between kitten teeth. A handful of buttons, all different colors and sizes, lost on the train from beloved articles of clothing that were now missing a vital piece- He’d weaved his lithe cat-form underneath the train seats to find those ones. And Wooyoung could remember one single rock, perfectly transparent that San had picked up on their way back home from the market. Even Wooyoung hadn’t seen the chaos, in that. Not until San had held it up to him.
✴
“How did you even see that? It’s like… practically invisible.” Wooyoung scoffed, turning the tiny crystal in his hand to study its physical form, as well as the tiny particles of magic that clung to it. He ran his thumb over its surface, perfectly smooth, before glancing back up at his friend.
“It smells like you, so it’s easy to find.” San smiled, dimples creased deep because he was so proud to collect praise from Wooyoung, always.
“Smells like me?” Wooyoung giggled, closing one eye to scrunch his face when San got closer, bumped his nose into his cheek. He swore he heard him purring, but- he was gone before he could even comment on it.
“Just like you.” San muttered, pulling back to keep walking, continuing their journey back home. Wooyoung always had to do breathing exercises , when San got close like that. Some side effect of his ability to get so close, probably, but San’s closeness made his heart race and his stomach ache. He tucked the stone into his pocket for later, hurrying to catch up with San before he lost sight of him.
“You’re weird.” He’d say, when he bumped shoulders with him, again. San would still be wearing his little proud smile, when he got there; Dimples still as deep and he urge to dig his thumbs in and pinch was an overwhelming one. But, the witch resisted. “What do you want for dessert tonight?” Wooyoung would watch his excitement grow, shoulders squared when he thought about what sweets they could share, later.
“I like your strawberry pies.” San said, after some thought.
“You always say strawberry pie. How about something different, this time?” Wooyoung chuckled, watching his excitement falter, replaced with a pout that deserved a kiss. Wooyoung ignored that thought. He ignored most thoughts he had, like that
“But… it’s supposed to be strawberry.” San pouted harder, and Wooyoung reached to hold his chin, stopping the both of them when he slid his thumb over his lip. There sometimes were urges like that, ones that had already carried themselves out by the time Wooyoung could even think about it. He didn’t have time to ignore those.
“No pouting. I’ll make strawberry pie, then.”
☽
Wooyoung had wondered, for a while, what it meant when San would say things were supposed to be a certain way. He’d wondered what that meant, just as he’d wondered why it was San that could invade his space and settle into his chest, nestled beneath his long-sick heart to keep it beating.
Why was it, that San had some deep seated feeling of how things should be, one that he couldn’t ignore, and always had to speak on? Things like-
Why San should love Wooyoung’s strawberry pies.
Why Wooyoung should obsess over San’s deep dimpled smile.
Why they should feel like they needed to be, permanently and completely, at each other's side.
☾
Wooyoung had theorized it on his own, one night, when San had fallen asleep on his lap. Fully human, head and shoulders heavy and huge, compared to the kitten he liked to be. The tan on his neck made his freckles there stand out much more than they would have in winter. Sitting there, he’d figured out why there were things that should be.
This was probably what a soulmate really was.
Never, in all his years, had Wooyoung given soulmates a thought. Not that he was cynical, but it was crazy to think that there was just one person out there, for one other person, only. And the idea that they’d cross paths, in this lifetime- He knew there was extraplanar magic, chaos that spanned multiple universes. These supposed to things, they were supposed to because they had been. They had existed like this, and somethings had to have stayed constant. Of course they did.
And once Wooyoung realized there were probably infinite versions of himself and San , he worked tirelessly to see them. After hours of polishing and practice, he’d stored up enough of his own chaos to try and see his other selves.
He’d stood across the room from the mirror of obsidian he’d obsessed over, for weeks. The mirror he’d taken so much time and energy to enchant, so he could see these other planes of existence. Worst of all, maybe, was he’d kept it hidden from San. So... he knew this was wrong, in some moral way. He’d have had no issue sharing it, otherwise.
So, as he stood across the room and refused to look, he changed his mind about it, at the last minute. He didn’t want to know what his other lives were like. And once he heard his own laughter through the mirror, he recalled that he did know better than to meddle with things like this. Time and space were not a part of magic. They did not bend to him.
“Oh- it’s us!” From a tiny hole at the bottom of the door, San had slipped through as a dormouse and invaded Wooyoung’s existential crisis. And then he got closer to the mirror, its magic so strong he had to have been drawn to it. “...There's a few of us. Why is there other us’s?” ‘Curiosity killed the cat’ made a whole lot more sense.
Wooyoung quickly jerked on the mirror with his magic and sent it crashing to the floor, letting his painstakingly polished disc of obsidian shatter into a hundred little pieces. He hated to waste it, but even more, couldn’t stand the fact that San was only in his life because that fact was predetermined.
And he knew he couldn’t stand to know more than that, about how this life worked.
☽✴☾
What he did know, was that in every corner of every plane, there was a him and there was a San, and they would always be together. In a world like his, or a world like yours, every single one would have them meeting. Would have them close . It was an undeniable fact that Wooyoung wished he never knew. Not because he hated San, or disliked him- But-
How much control did he really have, if something such as this was predetermined? The thought did drive him mad, for a very short time. But just as the idea to find out had appeared to him, the idea to un find out took his mind over. Because if Wooyoung couldn’t control his life path , he could at least control his knowledge, how much he knew.
All it took was a bit of careful sifting, to pluck out the issue at its root. From San somehow feeling exactly how things should be , to the cat nap on the couch, to the shattered obsidian that had made Sannie cry. A long string of realities that, once they were all removed, alleviated the weight that had lived on his chest. He had made sure to pluck San’s memory clean, too. But, just of the mirror, and of the way he’d yelled at him, for sneaking in.
“You can’t just go wherever you want- It’s my house! You can’t keep invading it whenever you like!”
“I- Sorry, I just knew you were scared, I felt it, I needed to check-”
“I don’t care within how many realities you are meant to protect me- you will not become my keeper in this one.”
“...m’sorry, Youngie.”
He was happy to be rid them both, of that one. The string of memory unwoven, leaving some small rip in the tapestry of his mind- There were a few other holes like it- some bigger, some smaller- in the sprawling fabric that was his memory. Luckily, he knew better than to wonder what they were.
But- San’s tapestry was torn, shredded. There was no start to it. Only the makings of the middle. When Wooyoung pulled his memory, it was easier than breathing. This man's mind was so distorted, what was one more? He just wished he could mend it, without hurting him in some deep, emotional way. He didn’t know why the beginning of San’s life was torn from him, but- He knew better than to wonder what it was.
☽✴☾
So, as Wooyoung felt some strange hesitance to let himself be close to San, he did feel that that was what he wanted, more than anything. This strange yet perfect connection he felt, with this shifter. Some puzzle-piece person he could have crafted himself, that he loved so much and found himself cherishing, in secret. He wanted to keep creeping closer, but he did always feel a subconscious pull back. But, Wooyoung never had been one to let anything other than himself control him, or his fate. He’d always carved it for himself, and he always would. And the more he started to ignore that strange pull, the brighter, and happier he became.
Rather than focus on some complicated, mind-breaking discovery of other them’s, he spent more time teaching San about the little things that made their magic .
The way the first light of morning hits midnight dew.
The familiarity of a warm hand on your back.
The way noses bumping made nearly-real electricity spark between skin, and San really loved those lessons. He loved seeing the magic between them, after a kiss on his cheek or the link of their fingers.
Wooyoung did too, of course, but admitting that would make that magic feel much less special. He ignored that pull to keep away from San for a good long while, until he didn’t feel it anymore, and forgot all about it.
As if he’d plucked the memory of it from his very own head.
✴☽𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊☾✴
“I just need one more basket. Do you think you can find them?” Wooyoung asked, watching San wiggle his tail at his question. “You’ll probably want to be human…” He trailed off, watching San, in full Shiba puppy form, circle by the front door. “Don’t crush the strawberries, please. Okay?” He frowned, already trying to figure out what he could do to get these berries himself- but San wanted so badly to be helpful. The pup gave him a tiny yip, circling once more before the witch bent to adjust his collar, nametag jingling beside the protective charm Wooyoung kept clipped to him. “Don’t forget your basket.” He chuckled, watching San try and grab for it- but he was so stout, he couldn’t reach its handle. “Well- get bigger!” He laughed, and San made a grumpy little sound.
He reluctantly aged his puppy form to a full grown Shiba Inu, just so he could pick the basket up and trot down their walkway. He broke off to the left and up a grassy hill to head for the forest, the place where he knew the berries grew big and full. Those would be the best, for Wooyoungie’s pie.
He got a little drool on his basket handle, just thinking about it.
𓍊𓋼𓍊
He got pretty deep into the woods, before he found his berries. Sniffing at the air in circles until he started snuffling at leaf litter to find them. When he did, he happily dragged his basket over to the bush, pawing at the juicy red berries in an attempt to whack them off- But he whined when he scraped one with his claw, ruining its perfection. Maybe Wooyoung was right, about being human.
He sat cross legged now, on the forest floor. Pulling berries carefully from between the leaves, making sure no inch of wicker was left visible at the bottom of his basket before plopping the lid down over top, then securing it with a tie. And back to a pup he was, as soon as he could. It wasn’t that he hated being person , he just saw no merit in it, without Wooyoung there. He was safer, with his perfect hearing and expert nose. With his unkempt claws and teeth that scared even himself, sometimes.
He trotted himself back toward where home was, sniffing for their firepit and Wooyoung’s magic the whole way. The other reason he loved being in dog form, any animal form at all, he could sense danger before he smelled or heard it. His hackles raised out of nowhere and he halted, eyes darting off to the side. He could hardly smell it, but it didn’t smell friendly. He felt a growl in his throat, and made himself bigger, like Wooyoung would always tell him. His growls grew deeper as his paws got larger, silky black tail whipping nervously behind him as a panther took place of his pup. He continued carefully, basket swinging as it was hooked between deadly teeth.
But, for whatever reason, this wild dog was smarter than he was. He yelped and lost his basket when he felt teeth in his thigh, whipping his body around to beat off the offending creature. And just because the dog outsmarted him once, didn’t mean it was ever going to be able to overpower him.
It only took a second and a hard snap of San’s jaws to break it’s neck.
𓍊𓋼𓍊
The fight wasn’t the hardest part about the altercation. It was after. When San had to burrow into the earth with his claws and make a grave mound for the creature he’d killed. To bury it with apologies, and a bit of aggravation, because if they’d just have said hello, we could be friends.
San was always naive, like that,
By the time he was done with his burial, he had to sit and lick his wound until the bleeding stopped. Because if he went back home with a bloody leg, Wooyoung would worry.
He so badly did not want Wooyoungie to worry.
So just beside his basket, he let himself whine and try to get his wound to clot over. He lost track of time, doing everything- The burying, the licking, the whimpering. He stayed until the moon left bright white glimmers on his dark coat, and realized Wooyoung would be even more worried, if he was late. But even then, he was dripping red along the leaves.
Stupid dog. Biting me. Why would he bite me? I didn’t do anything bad.
San paced the treeline near their home, circling slowly to watch his wound and see if it would stop dripping, so he could go inside. He didn’t realize he was whining, but he was, and he was more than irritated at himself for getting bitten like that.
“San!”
He flinched and made himself small out of habit, back to a tiny pup so he could hide in the grass- but his own yelping gave him away.
Why does everything hurt more when I’m small?!
“Oh, you little monster, what’d you do?” Wooyoung found him in no time, watching him yelp and kick his little leg out, noting he had a good puncture through his thigh. “Hush, come here.” He scooped him up and San found himself biting- Though he didn’t mean to, and Wooyoung knew that, too. He was just yelping and snapping, up until Wooyoung put a hand over his head and gave him a pat. “Will you stop crying long enough for me to teach you something new?” He chuckled, watching San’s ears flatten. “Look.” He took a few steps toward the woods, tugging a knife from his robe to slice underneath a section of the bark of a pine tree. “This stuff?” Wooyoung made sure his pup was watching, still holding him carefully in his arm, blood soaking the elbow of his robe. “It’s perfect for things like this.”
Below the bark, there was something shining, something that stuck to the wood and the knife, and soon Wooyoung’s fingers, then to his wound. He spread pine resin over his thigh, coating the bite wound, and the area around it.
“I’ll assume you licked the shit out of this, too.” San hid, at the accusation. It was true, but he’d only been trying to stop the bleeding… “Hopefully you didn’t infect it, but we’ll watch it closely for the next few days.” He sighed, reaching for their basket before hesitating to pout down at his San . “Be much more careful with yourself.” He started to walk them back down from the woods edge, down the steep, grassy hill that their home sat at the foot of. “I need you so much more than you know, Sannah.”
He let himself indulge, tucking his cheek down into soft fur, smiling when he felt a tiny tongue slip over his cheek, neck, eyebrow, dangerously close to up his nose.
“You worked so hard for these strawberries. I’d better make them worth the trouble, hm?”
San just yipped in agreement.
☾