AFFINITY.

part 05 | favolaschia calocera | nineteen

Yoongi groaned as he began to walk down the stairs. His muscles were hurting, not just from having to bend in odd angles but also from plain old exhaustion. He had been up at 3 in the morning harvesting the Crown Berries before dawn, and then he had to pluck the Pearl Blossoms as the sun rose and while Namjoon had been out to help – or "tried" to – they had still only been two people to empty three whole trees of small delicate flowers.

Yoongi wanted to curse because after breakfast he had had to stay in the shop and then in the evening he would need to weed out the pumpkin path and trim the hedges. There was so much to do and so little time to do it in. He could feel his heart beginning to speed up just at the thought of all the things he needed to do. He couldn't even postpone anything to the day after because there were six hundred other things that needed to be done and plants rarely had time to wait around for Yoongi to catch his breath – just like people didn't have the time either.

At least he had gotten a shower. The small Pearl Blossoms had left him covered in iridescent pollen and for a short time he had looked like a taller, less charming version of Jimin. The sad thing was that he had been so stressed he barely remembered to wash the soap out of his hair. Yoongi also barely managed to avoid putting Namjoon's latest odd "potion" in his hair. Namjoon thought he could make a hair tonic by randomly throwing things together, but they all knew to stay far far away from Namjoon's homemade shit.

Yoongi did not want to dye his hair pink on accident.

Again.

Once had been quite enough.

Yoongi sighed, feeling his body ache mildly as he continued down the stairs, stopping by the third floor. For some reason his eyes were drawn to the door at the end of the hall. It was open. Yoongi knew the room was empty, so there was no reason for the door to be open. Normally Yoongi kept the rooms locked for practicality. Not that it was hard to lock them up, all the keys hung down in the potion kitchen, but still Yoongi couldn't imagine what anyone wanted to do with an empty room. All the spare furniture and such was in the big ominous shed in the back of the garden.

Yoongi eventually shook his head, his head aching mildly. It was probably just Namjoon who tried to hide the new books he had bought from Seokjin. The dryad had been complaining a lot about the lack of space in their room lately.

Yoongi just sighed, dragging himself further down the stairs. He just wanted to get some coffee in him so he would feel just a little alive. When he entered the dining room the place was empty, only the faint sound Seokjin singing in the kitchen. The table was set and Yoongi could smell the food so he knew dinner would be served soon. With a groan he sat down at the table, smiling brightly at the cup of steaming coffee Seokjin had left in front of his chopsticks.

Yoongi took the cup, breathing deeply and allowed the scent of the coffee to wash through him. It was odd really. He used to hate coffee, only drinking it to stay awake for longer after he took over the house and the garden, but now it was one of the best parts of his morning.

Yoongi hummed as he sipped the burning hot liquid, the bitter taste spreading on his tongue. Yoongi closed his eyes, allowing the stress to escape for just a second. All Yoongi could hear was the sound of Seokjin singing in the kitchen and the taste of coffee.

Yoongi took another sip, eyes still closed.

It was as close to heaven as he would ever come.

Yoongi kept his eyes shut, the heat from the coffee pricking at his fingertips. He heard the others walk into the room, tired 'Good morning's muttered around him as chairs scraped against the floor and the sound of Seokjin's singing stopping as Namjoon made him giggle.