Fluffy ATEEZ Oneshots🧸

Magic overuse🌡🪄

Sickie: Hongjoong

Caregiver: Ateez

Magic AU

No one's POV.:

Things had been a little hectic in the Ateez coven lately. Especially since San and Wooyoung had returned home with a dragon egg, nobody knew where they had gotten it from. Knowing pair caring for a hatchling would inevitably end in disaster, Hongjoong had promptly confiscated the egg and entrusted it to Seonghwa. The eldest had his way with magical creatures, so Hongjoong wasn't worried about the care it'd receive. San and Wooyoung weren't please about the arrangement though and had decided to go on a strike. The timing was bad, the summer solstice approaching, so the entire coven was flooded with orders for spells, charms and potions.

Jongho had barely been out of the kitchen lately, trying to keep up with the high demand of potions. Usually, Seonghwa helped him with it but the eldest had his hands full, caring for their newly hatched pet, so the maknae tried to handle the brewing by himself. He'd manage, he was sure of it, as long as Seonghwa kept Haku out of the kitchen and from setting their house on fire, it'd be fine. Yunho and Mingi spent most of their days out in the woods, gathering ingredients their friends needed for their spells or potions, while making sure the perimeter was safe. Tensions often flared close to the summer solstice and the often worried the wolves in the east might forget about the lines of their territory but so far, they hadn't encountered any.

Hongjoong was drowning in orders, despite Yeosang's best efforts to help him out. Usually, San and Wooyoung handled enchanting objects that had been dropped off at their house, while Hongjoong and Yeosang focused on spells and charms but with the chaos duo still sulking especially now that Haku had hatched, the leader had to take over their duties. He wasn't all that confident in his enchantments but it would have to do for the time being.

"Hyung, don't you think you should take a break?", Yeosang hummed, when Hongjoong shut his spell book with a thud only to reach for a different one. Pinching the bridge of his nose, the older sighed: "I can't, Sang. I'm falling behind already." - "You know performing magic without paying proper attention is dangerous, hyung. I can tell, you have a headache, so I doubt you're able to focus and you're already slurring your words a little", Yeosang softly pointed out, "Go have some water and check on Seonghwa-hyung, hm? Last I heard, he wanted to teach Haku how to fly." With a defeated nod, Hongjoong turned and shuffled out of the room, hoping to find Seonghwa in less of a mess than he himself was in.

Stepping out into the yard, the leader took a deep breath. His shoulders dropped as the deep pine-scent grounded him. It was surprisingly quiet out here, compared to the coven house, which was always chaotic and even more so during such stressful days. "You're not gonna fall, I promise", Hongjoong heard Seonghwa call, chuckling as he spotted the elder. Seonghwa had placed the dragon hatchling on a tree branch, so it could try to glide down to either the witch's outstretched arms beneath or the soft moss, covering the forest floor. Walking up next to his hyung, Hongjoong smiled: "I see someone's cautious of heights." - "Oh, hi Joong", Seonghwa laughed, startled, "Yeah but we're working on it. How're you holding up?" - "I'm okay", the leader hummed, "Yeosang sent me to get some fresh air because he's afraid I might get careless." Nodding towards a tree stump, the older smiled: "Go sit, yeah? You look tired."

Seonghwa eventually managed to coax Haku down, gently catching the little dragon and carrying it in his arms. Plopping down in the moss opposite Hongjoong, he hummed: "You're running thin, Joong." The leader saw no point in denying it because his hyung was great at reading auras and even if he wasn't, they had known each other for enough centuries to give away the way they felt. "It's my own fault though, isn't it?", Hongjoong smiled bitterly, "Sannie and Wooyoung are old enough to make their own decisions and deal with the consequences. I'm not sure I was right to interfere, so I can't blame them for being upset. I feel mainly sorry for Yeosangie and Jongho-yah because their workload increased due to us two trying to take care of this mess." Seoghwa patted Haku's head and hummed: "It's true, they are old enough to fix their own messes but I know they still seem like babies in our eyes and it's hard to refrain from protecting them. I don't think that they are able to see that your decision was for their own safety and that of the coven but I'm sure they'll come around. As for Yeosang and Jongho, it's not fair for them to feel the consequences but their stronger than you give them credit for. I know they can handle it."