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Chapter Text

Hoseok has been growing strawberries for most of his life. 

He had a humble upbringing as the son of strawberry farmers growing up in Florida (one of the top two states the US gets their strawberries from). Of course his family were witches so they always had to upper hand when producing the best, most juiciest strawberries. He studied the craft (farming and spell casting that is) and became an even better farmer than their family could ever hope he could become. 

If that wasn’t enough, he joined the Florida Strawberry Growers Association to fully immerse himself in his devotion to strawberry farming.  He was such a beloved member and the spells he cast on the vegetation were so successful that business was booming in Florida better than ever. 

A few months ago Hoseok had a thought. A brilliant thought at that.

What if he moved to a struggling state and helped them produce better strawberries? He could start a business over there and spread his talent. 

He could almost picture it now: Hobi’s Berries. 

Oh that would be so cute!

Doing this in Florida may be difficult with such a competitive market, but say he moved to a lesser state such as North Carolina (which didn’t even produce 8% of the US’s strawberries) he could make a fortune, no, and impact on the state’s market. 

Hoseok didn’t even waste a minute thinking about his genius plan before he bid his parents farewell and moved to the south coastal plain of North Carolina. He found an adorable old-fashioned house with ten acres of land, got a farmer's permit, and immediately got to growing. 

It has now been nine months since he’s fully settled into town and he’s already built quite the reputation. On the third month of living in North Carolina, he began selling his strawberries at a local farmers market. Of course he had some help from his spells to help the strawberries grow faster so he had quite a lot to sell. They sold like hot cakes and he was swimming in cash by the end of the day. People surrounded his booth asking him for tips on growing produce or just welcoming him into their community. 

He briefly overheard a conversation from one of the moms, “This reminds me of when that Seokjin first came here. Gosh, his strawberries are amazing as well I feel so spoiled living around two great farmers.” Hoseok should have taken her more seriously but his hubris got the best of him and he dismissed her comment.

Hoseok felt on top of the world. 

That was until he actually met Mr. Kim Seokjin. That mother fucker.

He wasn’t at the farmers market the day Hoseok was but now that Hoseok has a strawberry and jam shop (the jams were a fun bonus) he’s beginning to learn about the local competition. Now, nine months after he thinks he’s at the top of the strawberry food chain, Kim Seokjin decides to make his presence known. 

As soon as he walked into Hoseok’s shop Hoseok sensed danger. It was a slow day so the shop was quite empty. Hoseok was getting bored but he would have preferred boredom to this interaction.

The man had on pale pink overalls with strawberries printed on them and he had strawberry-shaped glasses to match the fit. His hair was even pinned into two pigtails that looked more like the green sprouts on strawberries. God Hoseok was going to be sick.

Not even he took his job this seriously.

The man and Hoseok locked eyes immediately and his face twisted into a sly smirk, “So you’re the man hurting my business, hmm?” His voice was sickly sweet.

Hoseok huffed and returned the smirk back to him, “Not like it’s hard,” 

The man blinked the folded into himself laughing, “Oh god, I guess we really are going to be rivals, aren’t we? I’m Kim Seokjin by the way, you may have heard of me by now as I run the only other strawberry shop in town.”

Hoseok folded his arms smugly and shrugged, “I have heard of you however, I don’t really see you as competition so it might be one-sided. I grew up on the Florida farms and was even a part of the FSGA-” He paused, “the Florida Strawberry Growers Association, you probably heard of it. Anyway, you could say I know my shit,”

Seokjin puffs his cheeks and wrings his hands out, “New heard someone brag about being from Florida before. Sorry man, I grew up in California, where the US gets most of their strawberries from by the way. I was a part of the California Strawberry Commission though, maybe you heard of it.” He was smirking again.

Dammnit, Hoseok has heard of it. 

Of course he’s a Californian farmer, no wonder Hoseok had an instant dislike for him. West Coast farmers have a superiority complex like no other. 

Hoseok forced his face to remain neutral though he definitely felt his eyes twitching, “What are you doing here then if you’re such a big shot strawberry farmer?”

Seokjin raised an eyebrow, “Well I could asked you the same thing, couldn’t I?”

“I’m a successful farmer in Florida so I decided to spread my talents elsewhere to help the struggling states.”

Seokjin barked out a laugh, “Oh how humble of you. I guess I’m actually doing the same thing if you can believe it. Kind of funny how we ended up in the same town. You never visited my shop so I decided to stop on by and have a look for myself at why you’re stealing my clients.”

He gave a quick glance over the shop and looked back at Hoseok, “Honestly my place is so much cuter. I see you like the classic rustic look. I hate to say it but it’s quite basic in here, lacks charm ya know?”

“Listen asshole, I didn’t say shit about your outfit, so I truly don’t want to hear style tips from a grown-ass man who dresses like a five-year-old girl.”

Seokjin’s mouth dropped and his hands flew to his face as he gasped. 

“This is fashion I’ll have you know sir!” He shrieked. His face was starting to match the pink in his overalls, “I look cute as fuck and I was going for a strawberry shortcake look so I would say mission accomplished.” 

Hoseok gave him a blank stare. If this man came from the area he grew up in he’d be the laughingstock of the farm for sure. Californians are so strange.

“Whatever, do you want to purchase anything or are you just here for intimidation purposes and bad interior design tips?”

Seokjin raised his hands in surrender, “Look, I said I came here to check out the competition which means I would like to buy whatever is your best seller and see what the hype is about.”

Hoseok considered this. One taste of his strawberries would send a message but he needed to rub it in Seokjin’s face more.

“Here’s your requested strawberries and I have to include my strawberry and raspberry jam to go with it. It’s my best-selling jam, I make it myself as well.” 

Seokjin took the two items, eyeing them suspiciously, “Right, well I’ll only buy them if you also purchase something from my shop, Hoseok.”

Hoseok considered this, “I guess that’s a fair trade,”

Seokjin pumped his fists and dug into his overalls pocket for his wallet. 

“It’s a deal then! No backsies, okay?” He looked at Hoseok up and down.

Hoseok sighed while taking Seokjin’s money, “I wouldn’t break a deal, don’t be childish Seokjin,”

Seokjin eyed him then snatched the items from Hoseok, “Well alright then. Come to my shop around one o’clock tomorrow and see for yourself why you should be worried about my strawberries,”

It is so hard to be intimidated by a man in pigtails. 

Hoseok agreed and watched him leave. 

He sighed and wished for it to be tomorrow already so he could get it over with. The anticipation of trying his rival's goods was killing him. 

He has no doubt that he has the better berries, but Seokjin’s confidence has to come from somewhere. He sighed a opened his phone to text Jungkook to cover for him tomorrow while he was out. 

He met Jungkook by chance when he was at the local market buying groceries. Jungkook recognized him as the new farmer in town and decided to greet him and tell him about all the cool places to eat in town. Hoseok was so thankful for their interaction that he let it slip that he needed a worker at his shop to help him out with duties and Jungkook just so happened to need a job. His best friend Park Jimin also needed one and Jungkook begged him to hire them both as they were a “package deal”. 

Hoseok had no issues with hiring two people. Honestly, he got rich in Florida and had the money to spare for two employees. They were helping him more than he helped them if he’s being honest. He may have the spells, but having actual humans do the work makes him less suspicious to the townspeople on how one person can do all that he is doing. 

Jungkook and Jimin are also helping him build a social network within the community. Hoseok has a great personality and if he wants to build a good relationship with his customers, he needs to put it to use and build trust with his clients. 

Maybe he could work his charm to steal Seokjin’s clients as well. Oh he is so excited for tomorrow. 

Chapter Text

“Have you even seen his shop yet Hobi?” Jungkook asked while settling into his spot behind the counter.

Hoseok scoffed and shrugged his jacket on, “Please, why would I need to see something that means nothing to me? I have no interest in a shop that is potentially robbing me of customers.” 

Jungkook shook his head, “You’re making this a bigger competition than it needs to be, you know that right?” 

“You clearly don’t understand how business works. I need no competitors in order to grow bigger. This area was almost perfect for me but that man’s presence is ruining it.”

Jungkook raised his eyebrow at him but said nothing else. 

Hoseok knows he may seem a little bit intense when it comes to his business but he has a reputation to uphold and can’t let some guy in pink overalls defeat him. He won’t admit it out loud, but he totally looked up places to shop for strawberry-themed overalls last night. Seokjin had the right idea but terrible execution. 

“Jimin will be here in an hour to help you out. Will you be okay until then?”

Jungkook gives him a thumbs up and Hoseok turns to leave for Seokjin’s shop. 

Hoseok made a face typing in Berryology into his GPS. Their shops are actually a good distance away from each other with Seokjin’s shop being on the other side of town. 

“Oh you are shitting me!” Hoseok gasped as he pulled up to the building.

Berryology looked as if it came straight from the Barbie movie. The building was painted bright pink with red outlining the widows and all around the building were vines with mini strawberries hanging from them. Even the door had strawberries painted on it with a strawberry-shaped doorknob. 

He had to laugh at the sight in front of him. This is truly something he’s never seen before, Seokjin is one of a kind for sure. Hoseok had no choice but to respect the man for his dedication to a look. 

As soon as Hoseok entered the shop he was smacked with the artificial scent of strawberries. It was so overbearing he immediately went into a coughing fit. 

“Well that's not very nice.” 

Hoseok lifted his head to find Seokjin and an attractive young man next to him looking at Hoseok with frowns on their faces. 

Hoseok held a hand up as he tried to get a hold of his coughing, “Sorry, wasn’t expecting it to smell like a Bath & Bodyworks in here.”

“Wow, he really does say the rudest things with such a cute face. You were right Seokjin.”

Seokjin turned to the man next to him, “Right! He doesn’t deserve such an adorable face, it’s so offputting.”

Hoseok stood up and glared at the two of them, “My face suits me very well I’ll have you know. I’m an extremely happy person when I’m around people I like.”

Seokjin giggled and motioned towards the guy next to him.

“Hoseok, this is my brother Taehyung. He helps me around the shop as well as my other brother Namjoon and his husband Yoongi.”

Hoseok studied both of their faces closely to find the sibling resemblance. The two of them were extremely handsome he has to admit. Taehyung even looks good with his frilly pink blouse and strawberry-themed bucket hat. He bet Namjoon is hot as well. Such a shame he’s labeled the Kim family as his nemesis but he has to stay hard if he wants to make his strawberry business dreams a reality. 

Hoseok shook his head and raised a pointed finger at Seokjin, “Before I buy anything, I would like a review of what I sold you yesterday.”

Seokjin’s eyes lit up and his face twisted into a mischievous grin, “Oh I am so glad you asked!” He clasped his hands together and turned towards Taehyung, “Weren’t those strawberries just magical? Oh, and that jam was just unbelievably sweet.” He threw his hands to his chest dramatically.

“Honestly Hoseok, I see why you are so confident in your products. They have such a supernatural flavor I would love some tips.” He grinned and Taehyung glanced over at Seokjin as if he was in on a joke. 

Hoseok didn’t have time for their condescension. This was clearly an intimidation tactic and he will not stoop to their level. 

“Right, whatever that means.” He replied and watched Seokjin smile at him with some kind of sparkle in his eyes. 

“Well I’m just being honest here unlike someone.” He bent down behind the counter and came back up with a container full of strawberries and a bag of what looked like strawberry oatmeal bars on top of it. 

“These are our best sellers, I hope you enjoy them just as much as I enjoyed your products.” Seokjin slid them over the counter and Hoseok opened his wallet to pay. 

“Sure thing, I’ll stop by tomorrow and tell you my thoughts.” He was about to make his way out of the shop but then he heard a sound of protest from behind him. 

“Can’t you just eat them here? I want to see your reaction in real-time.” Seokjin was actually pouting right now. 

Hoseok shook his head, “Sorry, I just had lunch and can’t eat another thing right now.”

Seokjin’s face crumpled, “I guess that’s valid. It would have a much better reveal if you ate them with me in the room.”

Hosoek’s face crinkled, “That’s weird, you’re weird. It’s fine, I’ll just eat them later you can chill.”

Seokjin sighed, obviously disappointed, “Whatever, you may go now.”

Hosoek nodded, still weirded out and now even more eager to leave the shop. He left without another word but he could feel Seokjin and his brother staring at him as he left. 

–

Hoseok walked into his shop surprised to see it so busy. Jimin was helping at least three families at a time to figure out what type of jam would go best with their meal and Jungkook was swamped at the cashier. 

“Oh thank god you’re here man.” Jimin directed on family over to Hoseok and gave him a crazed look, “This man will help you now I’m going to help these people over here now.” Jimin said to the family and ran back to other shoppers around the jams. 

Hoseok blinked and summoned his customer service personality before turning to the husband and wife with a wide smile.

“Hey folks, how can I help you today?”

The husband spoke first, “Listen man, my daughter loves strawberries and yours are amazing so we were wondering if for her birthday you could make her some strawberry shortcake or maybe a strawberry cobbler. I know you don’t have any of those in your dessert section but we would pay you extra for it.”

Hoseok blinked. He isn’t much of a baker but he knows he can make anything with a recipe book and his spellbook to ensure good flavor. Plus extra money was always great.

“Yeah, sure I could do that. Do you know what day you need it by?”

The mom sighed in relief, “Oh thank god, we are shit bakers. Let's see, it’s Tuesday and her birthday is on Thursday. Is that alright? We could pick it up from here around eleven.” 

Hoseok nodded enthusiastically, “Of course! I’ll get to it tomorrow night. I had nothing going on so I should be thanking you for giving me a task.” He chuckled to himself and accepted more thanks from the parents then waved goodbye as they left his shop. 

“I didn’t know you take personal requests,” Jungkook said from the cashier.

Hoseok waved a dismissive hand, “Once in a while is fine, it’s actually great for business and building a reputation. I get more money and I become more reliable to customers.”

Jungkook nodded and then looked over at Jimin who looked like he wanted to teleport any place other than his job. The people around him looked frustrated so Hosoek decided to give the poor boy a break and help him out.

“Is there a problem over here folks?” Jimin shot him a relieved look and mouthed thank you.

“Yes, thank you,” The one woman said. She turned to Hoseok, “I was just asking this young man if this place had any jams or desserts without strawberries. I’m allergic to strawberries and bananas you see but everything here contains strawberries.”

Hoseok blinked and he heard a snort from Jungkook behind him. His place is literally called Hobi’s Berries with a strawberry right next to the sign. 

“Ma’am, I am a strawberry farmer you see, so I specialize in strawberry production. Everything here is made of strawberries because I grow them myself.”

The woman looked to her friend unimpressed, “You only grow strawberries?”

“Yes that is correct”

“Why can’t you grow other berries like blueberries or blackberries or better yet, fucking raspberries. This place is called Hobi’s Berries but you only sell one type of berry.” She talked as if she was a lawyer presenting a case.

“Well I can see why you may think that–”

“Strawberries are even a fucking berry mind you.” She continued. “I just think if you’re going to have such a broad name for a shop you would have a broad variety of things to sell.”

“Well I do, but just strawberry wise.” Hoseok does not see himself winning this argument as she brought up amazing points. 

“So how are people who have strawberry allergies supposed to shop here? This feels like exclusion.” 

Hoseok’s eye twitched, “Well shoot ma’am, you got me there. I’m sorry you feel excluded, but I really do only sell strawberry-flavored things here.”

She huffed and turned to her friend, “Well do you want anything here, it seems I won’t be purchasing anything.” 

Her friend looked around until she spotted the chocolate-covered strawberries and made her way towards them.

“Great choice, I’ll check you out over here,” Jungkook called over to her.

Now that Hoseok was breathing normally again he realized that everyone was watching their conversation play out. The store was quiet and all eyes followed the woman’s friend as she paid for the chocolate-covered strawberries and the two of them walked out. 

Hoseok looked at his two coworkers, “Was I in the wrong in that conversation or was it her? I can’t tell, she had some good points.”

One of the customers by the dessert section called over, “Nah dude, you were way nicer than I would have been.”

Jungkook nodded his head and Jimin laughed, “Hobi you are way too nice I don’t think anyone would have handled it like you just did. There’s literally no reason for someone with an allergy to come into a store specializing in said allergy.”

“But she was right about my sign being broad and how strawberries aren’t even berries.”

Jimin shrugged, “Maybe put a strawberries-only sign up under it or something to make it impossibly more clear.”

Hoseok considered that. At least that way he wouldn’t have to change his entire brand name.

“Hey, now that most of the customers are gone, mind telling me why you had products from Berryology earlier?” Jimin asked, “I thought you made these guys our rivals.”

“Oh Seokjin came over yesterday to try my stuff then I went to try his so we both know what we’re up against.”

“So what do you think about his stuff?” Jungkook asked.

“I haven’t eaten it yet since I was full from lunch when I bought it. I could eat some now since it’s been a couple of hours since I’ve eaten.”

Jungkook handed him the strawberries and oatmeal bars as Jimin walked over to the counter to watch closely at Hoseok’s reaction.

“Jesus guys, why are we hovering?” Their presence was making Hoseok uncomfortable.

He took a bite out of the first strawberry he saw and chewed it slowly to get a good sense of the flavor. 

Holy shit. It was one of the best strawberries Hoseok has ever had. 

Next to his of course

There was something familiar about the flavor though. It reminded him a little of his own strawberries. Now Hoseok has been eating strawberries all his life so he knows how to spot the difference in flavor, but there was something that he detected in that one bite but he couldn’t put his finger on it. 

He took another bite and his eye widened.

That son of a bitch was a witch just like him. Oh this is terrible. He always had an upper hand when it came to his strawberries but that was because he was the only witch. But witches are so rare so there’s a chance he could be wrong right?

He took a bite out of the oatmeal bars, ignoring Jungkook and Jimin’s demands on his thoughts. One bite into the oatmeal bar and Hoseok frowned. This one didn’t have magic in it besides whatever was in the strawberry filling. That doesn’t make sense, witches would usually use magic for everything so why weren’t the oatmeal bars fully made with magic?

Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. He won’t know for sure if Seokjin was a witch without seeing his spell book. Every witch had one and they usually kept it safe so it may be in Seokjin’s home just like his spell book was. 

Hoseok has made up his mind.

He is going to break into Seokjin's house tonight and find that man’s spell book to prove he’s a witch. 

Yes, another brilliant plan from the Jung Hoseok.

“YO!”

Hoseok snapped out of his scheme immediately. Jimin and Jungkook were staring at him waving their hands in front of his face. 

“Dude you totally went mute on us,” Jungkook said. He was eating the rest of the oatmeal bar and Jimin was sucking on his fingers from the juice that came out of the strawberries he ate. 

“Yeah Hobi, I know this shit was good but you look like your mind teleported to another planet.”

Hoseok turned to Jimin, “Oh, yeah. I was just thinking about what to do tonight and I guess I got carried away.”

Jungkook leaned forward, “Okay but the strawberries and oatmeal bars, what did you think of them?”

Hoseok’s gaze was still far away, “Oh, they were fine I guess. Hey, can you guys close up shop today? I gotta get home and scheme–I mean–never mind. Jungkook, you know where Seokjin lives right?”

Jungkook tilted his head, “Yeah I’m friends with his brother Taehyung.”

“Right, and could you tell me his address?”

Jungkook shrugged, “Sure but he won’t be home tonight, Namjoon and Yoongi are having them over for dinner.”

“Perfect,” Hoseok said and left his shop immediately, ignoring the looks of his confused employees.

Chapter Text

Don’t fret dear reader, Jung Hoseok has broken into houses before so he knows what he’s doing. He hates to be a Florida stereotype, but no one from that state is fully stable. 

Growing up he’s definitely snuck into rival farmers' fields and houses to damage their crops or mess with their fertilizer in order for his family to rise to the top. They grew up poor and Hoseok couldn’t bear for them to continue that lifestyle if he could help it. It’s not ethical in the slightest but no rich person has gotten their money by being a saint.

He figured he had a good time frame from six to nine o’clock the latest to sneak into Seokjin’s house. Spell books have a strong aura to them so Hoseok not finding the spell book is not a concern he has at all. He really hopes Seokjin is just a normal farmer but there is no doubt in his mind that those strawberries he tasted were filled with magic. 

Hoseok glanced at the clock one more time. It was five-fifty now so it would most definitely be after six when he arrives at Seokjin’s house. He gets into his car and starts driving. 

Seokjin lived fairly close to his shop which Hoseok figured but what he didn’t expect was to see that his house literally matched his shop. 

Hoseok stared at the bright pink house in front of him that was covered in paintings of strawberries. He even had strawberry bushes lining the walkway to his house. This guy seemed to eat, sleep, and breathe strawberries. 

Hoseok hesitantly made his way up to Seokjin’s door and jiggled the handle to test the lock. The house Seokjin lives in looks pretty old and this door seems to be part of the original design. All he had to do was forcefully twist the doorknob to one side and it snapped. He waited for the sound of a potential alarm system but breathed out a sigh of relief when he didn’t hear it. Dealing with technology was tricky for witches. He waved his hand over the now broken doorknob and watched as it fixed itself as good as new. 

Hoseok stepped inside the house and immediately felt the pull of a spell book coming from what he assumed was where the kitchen was located. He probably could have left right then and there but Hoseok needed to physically see the book to confirm his assumptions. 

He continued his way further into the house and felt as if the walls themselves were breathing, Maybe it was his anxiety. He hasn’t broken into a house in a while so he’s out of practice. 

The inside of the house was actually adorable and Hoseok couldn’t help but feel endeared. He felt like he just stepped into a fairytale cottage from a Disney movie. Woodbeams lined the walls and the living room had a gorgeous fireplace with gold and pink designs painted all around it. It must look gorgeous when a fire is going on. He briefly glanced over the cauldron sitting next to the fireplace. Hoseok uses his own cauldron at home when he brews his jams but he doesn’t sense any magic coming from Seokjin’s. 

When he finally made it into the kitchen, the pull of a spell book was so strong he rushed over to the cabinet the pull was coming from and flung the door open. 

There it was. A worn-looking book with apotropaic marks all over it. Now Hoseok wasn’t an evil person, he would never open another witch's spell book. That was an insane breach of privacy and though Seokjin was his rival he doesn’t hate the man like that. 

He let out a breath of relief and turned around to go home. He got the confirmation he needed and now he can confront Seokjin about this in the afternoon tomorrow. 

He made a step forward and frowned when he heard a squish sound from under his feet. He made to move his foot up but quickly realized he couldn’t. His other foot is stuck in place as well and he is starting to notice the smell of strawberries filling his nose. His head shot up and he was met with an angry-looking Seokjin standing right in front of him. 

“Well I must say,” Seokjin’s voice was overly sweet, “You seem to have gotten yourself in quite the jam here. I’m honestly berry disappointed in you Hoseok.”

Hoseok stared down at his feet and noticed that his shoes were being held to the floor by strawberry jam. 

“I get that you are upset right now-” He held his hands up before Seokjin could butt in, “But I promise I didn’t break into your house out of malice. I just tasted magic in your strawberries and wanted to see your spell book for myself before I confronted you about possibly being a witch.”

Seokjin’s face was blank but his mouth dropped slightly in disbelief. 

“So breaking into my house was the first step you take? No other options felt more I don’t know—reasonable?”

“Well if you weren’t a witch then I could’ve compromised myself if I did confront you first.”

Seokjin groaned and buried his face into his hands, “Hoseok, of course, I'm a goddamn witch. That should have been obvious as soon as you tasted my strawberries. I knew as soon as I tasted yours that’s why I wanted you to eat them when I was in the room with you. I even tried to drop hints this afternoon but you’re just so fucking obtuse. I had to drive over from my brother’s house thinking a burglar broke into my house so please excuse me if I’m a little mad right now.”

“What do you mean you were dropping hints this afternoon?”

Seokjin gave him an incredulous look, “Well if that’s the part you want to focus on then sure. I literally said ‘I see why you are so confident in your products. They have such a supernatural flavor’. Is that not obvious enough?”

Hoseok clicked his tongue, “That was totally just you patronizing me as an intimidation tactic don’t spin this on me.”

“First of all, this is on you as you are the one who broke into my house, and second of all, I was making puns on how your stuff tasted magical cause it literally was. If I knew you were this delusional I would have been more straight up. I thought it was an act like when we first met and we had a  little flirty back and forth going on.”

“Flirty?” Hoseok barked out a laugh, “ You were totally antagonizing me and then we argued.”

Seokjin stared at him long enough for it to grow uncomfortable, “So you weren’t flirting, you were being mean?”

Now Hoseok is super confused. Did he read all their interactions wrong or was it Seokjin who read them wrong? No, both of them were surely at fault here. 

“May I ask why you thought I was flirting?”

Seokjin sputtered and his face grew increasingly more red, “Well I don’t know now that I think about it. I mean you were just so cute when I first saw you so maybe I just made my mind see it that way? Then you started being all adorable with your silly comebacks and I was like oh this guy is totally into me he’s just a tsundere. I guess looking back at it you were totally antagonizing me with non-romantic intent.” 

His last words were much more quiet than the rest of his speech. Oh no, he looked so embarrassed Hoseok was starting to feel bad. 

He sighed, “Okay so clearly we both misunderstood each other. I’m sorry I read our interactions wrong. I came here to start a business and saw you as a threat and may have taken it too far and for that I am sorry.”

Seokjin nodded, “I guess I accept your apology, just please don’t break into my house again I don’t need that sort of panic again.”

Now Hoseok was the embarrassed one. Who would have thought breaking and entering would cause such consequences? He felt his feet starting to slide and realized Seokjin released him from the floor. He adjusted his position and mumbled a thank you to Seokjin. 

“So,” Hoseok started to fill the silence, “How’d you know someone broke into your house.”

Seokjin snorted, “Well obviously I set enchantments around the place as protection. As soon as you pulled into my driveway I felt a presence. Did you not enchant your house too?”

“Well honestly, I completely forgot to do that. My mom enchanted our house in Florida so I forgot that step when I moved in. I’ll definitely get onto that as soon as I get home.”

Seokjin huffed, “Yeah you should, you never know when someone will break in and take a glance at your spell book for ‘non-malicious’ intent.”

“Alright, I get it, jeez.” Hoseok rolled his eyes but he still had one more question, “Why aren’t your baked goods made with magic and why is there no magic coming from your cauldron?”

Seokjin’s eyebrows furrowed together, “Why would I need magic to make my dessert taste good? I’m a good ass baker if I do say so myself. Does this mean you use magic for all of your products?”

Hoseok nodded.

Seokjin hummed, “I guess that’s why I tasted so much in your jam. I thought it was just because you enchanted your strawberries. Are you that shit at baking that you need magic for everything?”

Hoseok huffed, “No, I’m a great baker but I just see magic as part of the recipe. It’s not like it would make my stuff bad, that’s literally impossible.”

“But doesn’t that create an unfair advantage to all your stuff? I know we enchant our strawberries but that’s more ethical than using it for everything else.”

“Umm, it absolutely is an unfair advantage that’s why I do it.” Hoseok knows it’s unfair but who wouldn’t use a secret weapon like this if it wouldn’t put them on top? His parents taught him to win no matter what in order to make it in this industry. Any farmer can grow a crop but not all of them can grow good crops and if he has the chance to make the best then why wouldn’t he? 

Seokjin smiled at him, “Well I guess someone who wants to be on top would think like that. I admire that about you. How you want to be the best you can be no matter what. I mean you even broke into my house to prove you weren’t the only witch in town. I just want you to know we don’t have to be the rivals you made us to be. Hell, I think we should combine businesses, imagine all the profit we would make. We already have two locations if we keep our shops.” He laughed to himself but Hoseok’s brain started whirring at the mention of making more money.

“Wait would you consider that? I’m being so serious Seokjin I would merge our businesses in a heartbeat. We would make so much money man.”

Seokjin froze, “Well shit, I mean yeah I guess I wasn’t completely joking. We’re literally doing the same thing so it would make sense. We would have to work together though I don’t know how that would work out as we don’t really know each other.”

Hoseok felt his whole body vibrating, “I have to make a strawberry cobbler tomorrow night for a girl's birthday. Why don’t we bake it together? We can test our chemistry and see if we work well together.”

Seokjin’s face turned red, “Right, chemistry. We could do that, I am free and I think baking is a great bonding experience.”

Hoseok beamed at him. He never would have thought this night would have turned out like this. Any hostile attitude he had towards Seokjin has dissipated now that the man could be a potential business partner. 

Seokjin’s eyes widened, “Jeez your entire personality flipped after I suggested we work together. Did you really see me as such a threat? It’s like your face is shining with positive energy it’s kind of scary.”

Hoseok pouted, “Well I told you I’m only nice to people I like, and I’m sorry to say this but I didn’t allow myself to like you.”

Seokjin grinned, “You ‘didn’t allow yourself to like me’? Does that mean even when you didn't want to you still liked me?”

Now Hoseok was red, “Well you looked so harmless with your pigtails and strawberry-themed outfit! It was adorable I even went home to buy similar overalls, they’re coming tomorrow afternoon by the way.”

Seokjin folded over laughing making Hoseok regret spilling that last part.

“Oh, that is so cute I can’t.” Seokjin continued, “I told you that you’re adorable.”

Hoseok didn’t know how to respond to such a statement so he looked everywhere but Seokjin’s face. 

“Well, I should get going now that I got what I came here for.” Hoseok laughed awkwardly. 

“I’ll walk you out, I’m gonna head back to my brother’s house.”

Hoseok flinched at that, “Right, umm sorry for ruining your night out.”

“Well something good came out of it so I can’t be too disappointed now can I?”

Hoseok blushed a nodded.

They walked over to their cars, but before Hoseok opened his car door he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to face Seokjin who leaned in and kissed his cheek. 

“See ya tomorrow night Seokie. Give me your phone number so you can text me your address.”

Hoseok was so stuck on the warmth on his cheek from where Seokjin kissed him that he didn’t even comment on the gross nickname. He gave Seokjin his phone on autopilot, still in a daze. 

Oh boy, he might have dove into this business idea a little too fast for his well-being. His impulsive nature is starting to catch up to him. 

Seokjin typed in his number and handed Hoseok his phone back with a wink then turned to walk to his own car. 

What the fuck just happened?

Chapter Text

Feelings are complicated. Hoseok should know, he has a lot of them. In fact, he’s feeling way too many of them at this very moment. 

It has been two hours since he broke into Seokjin’s house and they decided to work together and Hoseok has done nothing but stare at his wall. 

Just three hours ago he was planning on taking Seokjin down and now he can’t think of anything but frolicking in the strawberry fields while holding Seokjin’s hand and singing Disney princess tunes. 

Hoseok sighed dreamily at the thought. 

This totally doesn’t mean that he has a crush on Seokjin. No, absolutely not. He’s just thinking about how well they will work together and make tons of money. Yes, he is only thinking about the money. 

He groaned and decided to sleep on it, too many conflicting emotions for one night. On one hand, he no longer wants to compete with Seokjin and would like to get to know him better but on the other hand, becoming business partners could be his downfall and all his dreams of becoming a big-shot strawberry farmer could go to shit. 

Whatever, that is morning Hoseok’s problem, not his.

But of course, when  Hoseok wakes up (no surprise) his feelings are the same. He groaned into his pillow and reached for his phone to put an end to the insufferable ringing of his alarm. He paused after noticing a text from Jungkook that he didn’t have the key to open the shop.

Hoseok groaned again and texted Jungkook to give him fifteen minutes to get ready. Thankfully shop is only five minutes away but Hoseok won’t be able to eat breakfast now in order for him to open up on time.  

He arrived at the shop with two minutes to spare till opening and high-fived himself for his impeccable time management skills. On his way to the door, he noticed Jungkook and Jimin sitting on the curb talking solemnly to each other. When he came closer the two of them snapped their heads up and he was met with such guilty faces. 

“Hobi I am so sorry-” Jungkook started but Jimin butted in.

“No, shut up it's my fault. Jungkook had the key to close but then I distracted him by slapping Twizzlers in his face and we got into a fight and completely forgot about the key when locking up.”

Hoseok paused, “Wait so you left the key inside the shop when you locked it?”

They both nodded simultaneously looking like kicked puppies. 

“I didn’t even realize until this morning that we did that,” Jungkook mumbled.

Hoseok dug into his pocket to fish out his own key and unlocked the door.

“It’s fine, luckily we don’t have much to set up besides the cashier.”

“Oh that reminds me,” Jimin said suddenly as he turned to pull something out of his bag, “I made a sign last night to let people know we only sell strawberries and strawberry-flavored products here.”

He lifted it up for Hoseok to see and Hoseok couldn’t help but smile. He might have to start paying these boys livable wages if they continue being this endearing. 

The sign was basic and clearly made out of a posterboard from CVS. It even had glitter on it with little strawberries that had smiley faces on them.

“Jimin, this is adorable and I love it. You can put it in the window right over there so people can see it before entering.”

Jimin nodded and started taping his sign onto the window next to the door.

Jungkook walked over to the cashier but looked over at Hoseok, “You okay Hobi? You seemed stressed when you were walking towards us but I don’t know if it was from us or from something else.”

Hoseok debated on whether or not he should give Jungkook the entire story of last night. He doesn’t know how the kid will react to him breaking into a house. It appears they do things differently around here.

Jimin walked over to the counter clearly intrigued and Hoseok sighed, “Well, last night Seokjin and I met and had a very mature discussion about our businesses and where we should go from here-”

“Wait I thought he was at Namjoon and Yoongi’s last night for dinner.” 

Hoseok shot Jungkook an irritated look, “That is unimportant. As I was saying, we decided that since we are basically selling the same thing and we have the same goals, why not merge our ideas and work together? We haven’t gone into much detail yet since we don’t know if we even work that well together so it’s just an idea for now. We’re actually going to bake that girl's strawberry cobbler tonight to see if we can get along. Though after last night, I have high hopes.”

Jimin gave him a look, “Now what the fuck happened last night for you to do a complete one-eighty on us. Don’t get me wrong, I never cared about your hostility toward him and his business but it hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since I last saw you and now all of that animosity is gone. What else happened?”

Never mind, Hoseok will continue paying him minimum wage after all.

“Important business stuff happened that’s all.”

“Important business stuff my ass,” Jungkook retorted, “You’re red as fuck right now. Did you bang or something?”

“Bang!” Hoseok was flabbergasted, “Jesus H. Christ Jeon Jungkook, we did not “bang”.  It was just a pleasant conversation and it erased all my previous opinions on him.”

Jimin smirked, “Oh so you have a crush on him.”

It was like fighting an uphill battle, “Now where did that come from Park Jimin?”

“Jungkook was right, you’re bright red and you were smiling when you talked about him.”

Hoseok could now feel his face burning, “I was smiling because I’m thinking about all the money this is going to make me if it all works out.”

Jungkook and Jimin looked at each other and started laughing.

“Okay Hobi,” Jimin laughed, “We’ll let it go for now. You are now turning purple and I’m concerned.”

Hoseok placed both his hands on his face and felt the heat coming off of him. Jesus you could cook an egg on his cheek at this rate.

His dignity was already gone so he decided to add one more thing just to ease his mind, “Jungkook, since you kind of know Seokjin, is he affectionate at all?”

Jungkook shrugged his shoulders, “I mean his is with Taehyung. He’s always kissing him on the cheek or squishing his face together.”

Hoseok hummed.

“Why did you want to know? Did he do anything?” Jimin had that sly look back on his face again.

Hoseok looked at the floor, “Well he kissed my cheek after he walked me to the car. I guess it was in a brotherly way though so we’re all good.”

The room was silent.

Jungkook took a deep breath, “And would you like to tell us any other details that could have led up to that moment?”

He’s got nothing to lose now, they cracked him, “Well he said he thought we were flirting the whole time we argued because he thought I was being a tsundere. He called me cute too.” He felt the need to add that last part just because.

Jimin started cracking up again while Jungkook grabbed his shoulders.

“Hobi, you are a very stupid man. It sounds like Seokjin is too though so I think you guys are perfect for each other if that helps.”

That was all Hoseok needed to hear for the time being.

“Thanks guys, I’m not really good at this stuff so I needed to know someone else's perspective in case I’m reading too much into it.”

“Oh, you are definitely not reading too much into it.” Jimin told him, “This man likes you for some reason. You were being a bitch to him and he saw it as flirting. Keep him, I mean it.”

Hoseok rolled his eyes, “I wasn’t that bad. And it’s nothing serious so don’t expect any development any time soon. Let’s resume opening and looking like we work here, I saw some cars pull into the parking lot already.”

“I’d rather gossip but fine,” Jimin mumbled and walked over to the door to greet the first group of people walking in.

The rest of the day went by smoothly and the only incident they had was a two-year-old knocking over a jam jar. Hoseok saw it coming from a mile away and made sure to have the jar fall slow enough for it to not shatter on the ground. The child’s dad was so impressed with the durability of the jar that he decided to buy it right then and there.

When eight o’clock came, Hoseok bolted to his car and left the shop for Jimin and Jungkook to close after they promised to not fuck up again. He honestly didn’t care what they did, his mind was only focused on baking with Seokjin tonight. 

He stopped at home to gather ingredients and to change real quick. The package for his strawberry-themed overalls came and Hoseok had no choice but to try it on. They were perfect of course. He ogled at the stitching of the strawberries for a couple of minutes to fully appreciate his new outfit. He even paired it with his strawberry-themed rain boots. The ground was fairly muddy from a passing shower this afternoon so he had the perfect excuse to wear them. 

He gave Seokjin a text to let him know he was on his way and was happy to see Seokjin respond immediately with a can’t wait and a chef emoji. Hoseok giggled and fixed his hair in the mirror quickly before he loaded his car with his ingredients and headed over to Seokjin’s. 

Now that Seokjin actually expected company, his house seemed livelier than before.

His strawberry bushes had lights under them creating a soft pink glow on the path up to his doorstep. He couldn’t detect the specific smell coming from his home, but it was a soft sweet scent with an earthy undertone. He was entranced and almost felt like he was floating on his way to the door. He didn’t even have to knock, the door swung open and he was met with Seokjin standing in the doorway ready to help him with his things. 

“Oh Hoseok, don’t you look berry a-peeling tonight.”

Chapter Text

The fruit puns were gonna get old fast. There’s only so much an attractive face can do when it comes to cringe behavior. 

Hoseok decided to ignore the pun so he handed Seokjin his flour and carton of strawberries instead.  

Seokjin took the items and scolded him, “You know, a cobbler has very simple ingredients. I have them all here, there was no need to bring everything.”

“Well I didn’t want to assume anything and I wasn’t going to use your strawberries for a product made by me.”

Seokjin chuckled, “I know we taste the difference in our strawberries but I can’t imagine anyone else would be able to.”

“Okay so maybe it’s because I still feel guilty for yesterday and don’t want to overstep anymore,” Hoseok admitted.

Seokjin hummed, “I appreciate it then. I have all the tools set up in the kitchen so we can begin baking as soon as you’d like. I even prepared strawberry daiquiris for us if you would like a drink.”

“Umm yeah, that sounds great actually. I uh–I know you don’t use your cauldron for baking, but would it be too much if I use it? I want to stay consistent with my products.”

Seokjin nodded and made his way to his living room at once, “I’ll warm it up for you, go in the kitchen, and set the rest of your things.”

Hoseok took off his boots and walked to the back of the house where the kitchen was. He was just finishing setting up the counter space when Seokjin walked in.

“I love your shoes by the way. I didn’t see them when you first came in but now I feel the need to buy strawberry rain boots.”

“Thank you, and you should, they would probably match any outfit you own.” He motioned to Seokjin's current outfit which was a white button-up shirt with strawberries in rows all around it and his blue bell bottom jeans with vines along the stitching.

Seokjin smiled at him, “Very true, I like my wardrobe to stick to a theme in case you can’t tell. Thank god I’m hot though, it makes it so much easier to pull all my outfits off.”

Hoseok huffed at his boasting but it’s not like he could disagree with the man. Before he could make a comment Seokjin’s eyes brightened. 

“Are those the overalls you said you bought after you saw my pair? Hoseok, they are so cute on you. You look adorable by the way I think I told you that earlier when you walked in but I truly just want to squish you until jam comes out of your ears and nose.”

Was that a good thing?

“I’m assuming the “jam” you are referring to is really my blood and in that case, please don’t do that.”

Seokjin made a pssh sound and walked over to the measuring cups.

“I mean no harm I promise you. So, what’s the first step?”

Hoseok blinked.

Right, the cobbler.

“How about one of us starts dicing up strawberries while the other takes care of the dry ingredients.”

Seokjin made a salute and took out a knife to hand to Hoseok.

“I’ll do the dry ingredients, I know you’re protective of your strawberries. I am too, don’t worry.”

Hoseok nodded and got to dicing.

“So…should we discuss business,” Seokjin asked as he poured a third of a cup of sugar.

“Right, yes.” 

Great start Hoseok, he thought.

“So the only thing I am unsure of is how we would combine our strawberries. I know you said they don’t taste all that different from others and even if they did, it’s not like they would taste bad. I’ll be honest here and say yours didn’t taste bad, just different.”

Seokjin clicked his tongue, “I know what you mean. What if we use one person’s strawberries for desserts and the other’s for packaging? Mine are sweeter than yours so what if we use them for desserts? That way it’s fair.”

Hoseok actually really liked that idea. He liked baking, don't get him wrong, but he’s in this business so he could grow strawberries, not make desserts. Having Seokjin in charge of baking would take a huge load off of him.

“I like that idea but I have one condition, I still make the jams. You don’t have any jams in your shop and it upset me. I love making them so that’s my only ask of you.”

Seokjin looked over at him from the mixer.

“Yeah I don’t make them 'cause it’s a pain. You can definitely be in charge of that. Let’s make the wet ingredients so we can marinate the strawberries in them.”

Hoseok beamed and started combining the milk and vanilla extract into the mixture. He dipped his fingers in to taste what they had so far.

“Oh shit Seokjin, this is amazing. I don’t know why I don’t make it more often, here try it. He dipped his fingers in again in excitement and lifted it to Seokjin’s face. 

Seokjin stared at Hoseok’s fingers long enough for his eyes to grow cross-eyed.

Hoseok faltered realizing that this may not be appropriate at the moment but right before he moved his fingers away, Seokjin’s eyes moved up to Hoseok’s gaze and he took his fingers into his mouth. 

Seokjin maintained eye contact and he swirled his tongue around Hoseok’s fingers and started sucking on them hard enough that his mouth made a popping sound when he pulled off.

Hoseok stood in place frozen, his gaze not leaving Seokjin’s. 

“Don’t look so surprised, there’s bound to be some spice in the kitchen.”

Yep, moment ruined.

“Oh shut the fuck up.”

Seokjin howled and swiped the residue mixture on his mouth with his thumb and brought it into his mouth with an obnoxious sucking sound. He grinned at Hoseok the whole time. 

“Jesus, just pour everything into a pan so we can bring it to the cauldron. It will fit in there right?”

“Oh yeah, it’s big enough. I use it for special occasions when the whole family is here. I don’t feel the need to use it for myself but I gotta impress my relatives with my brews  when they come for the holidays.”

They walked over to the living room where the cauldron sat. “Do witches make up your entire family? My dad’s sister married a human so one side of our family is human.”

Seokjin placed the strawberry cobbler into the cauldron carefully, “Yup, we’re all witches. My family used to be a part of a huge clan hundreds of years ago so they all try to stick with witches to keep tradition. Taheyung and I never cared much and obviously Namjoon didn’t either. Yoongi’s human but he knows about us. He was so chill when Namjoon told him, it was great.”

“Oh good for him. We were the only witches that I know of in Florida so I never got close to people in case I’d have to explain myself. It seemed like such a hassle and I didn’t want that fear of abandonment, ya know?” 

Hoseok knelt down, placing his hands on the warm cauldron, and began reciting his usual enchantments for baking. Seokjin knelt next to him and nudged him with his shoulder.

Hoseok glanced over at him while continuing his enchantments.

“That sounds kinda lonely Hoseok,” Seokjin whispered.

Hoseok couldn’t reply just yet and shrugged in acknowledgment as he finished up. When he completed reciting then turned to look at Seokjin, taken about by their closeness. 

“I mean I was busy with work so I never focused much on romance. I kinda have always put my job first. I love it so much that I couldn’t see myself thinking of something else. Business over here is doing well, but I have so much time to build relationships with people now that I have more freedom than I could ever dream of. I didn’t even have any close friends in Florida because I was so busy. Here I have good relationships with most of my customers and Jimin and Jungkook may be my employees but I would consider them the closest friends I’ve ever had. That sounds sad out loud, but I swear I’ve never been unhappy with my life.”

Seokjin took Hoseok’s hands off the cauldron, “I wish I knew that sooner. I’ve only been living here for two years but I made plenty of friends, I can introduce you to them if you’d like. It helped that my brothers moved here with me so I was never really lonely, but I promise it makes a difference to make connections with people on a more personal level than business.”

“That actually sounds really nice, I’d like that.”

They were talking softly as if they were trying not to break the delicate atmosphere. The light from the fire made Seokjin’s eyes sparkle and Hoseok couldn’t look away–that was until Seokjin ran his tongue over his lips and Hoseok couldn’t resist himself. He leaned in and kissed Seokjin softly. Seokjin breathed out and Hoseok couldn’t help but think about how he tasted like the cobbler they just made. 

Hoseok was about to pull away from Seokjin but Seokjin grabbed onto his overall straps and pulled him toward him. Hoseok lurched forward and climbed into Seokjin’s lap in order to stabilize himself. He made a sound at the force of his movements and Seokjin hummed back as an apology but he didn’t stop. 

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you all night,” Seokjin admits between kisses.

Hoseok looked down at Seokjin, his lips were buzzing and he was breathing heavily, “I kind of figured after you sucked my fingers as if you were sucking cock.” 

Seokjin’s eyes were no longer sparkling, they had a mischievous gleam to them. He flipped the two of them over and started making his way down his neck.

“I hate to take these overalls off of you, but I really would rather you be naked right now so I can show you just how I would suck your cock.”

“You really wanna do this on your living room rug?”

Seokjin shrugged, “I like how you look in the firelight.”

The heat on Hoseok’s face was no longer from the fire, “Fine. Since you’re such a charmer.”

Seokjin grinned and began undoing his overall straps and Hoseok lifted his hips to accommodate. Once he was stripped to his underwear Seokjin quickly tugged his shirt and shorts off so they were both equally naked. Hoseok admired how the light of the fire made Seokjin’s skin appear to glow. He wasn’t as scrawny as Hoseok thought, there was way more muscle on his arms and his shoulders were truly that broad and not just an illusion from his shirts. 

Seokjin leaned back down and resumed sucking on Hoseok’s neck but this time he moved further down to his nipples.

“I don’t feel much there but you’re welcome to try,” Hoseok told him as he watched Seokjin slurp and suck on his chest. 

Seokjin lifted his head up, “That’s a shame, can’t say the same about me though.” 

He winked and continued his way further down Hoseok’s torso. Hoseok made sure to store that information for later purposes. He groaned and spread his legs when Seokjin’s hand stroked his cock through his boxers. Seokjin slowly tugged his underwear down and watched as Hoseok’s cock sprang out. He looked up at Hoseok through his spread thighs and began licking the tip of his cock teasingly making the same slurping sounds he was making in the kitchen earlier. Hoseok gasped when Seokjin took more of him into his mouth and started moving his head up and down more enthusiastically. Hoseok grabbed Seokjin’s hair and when he received a groan of approval, he gripped his head tighter and started moving Seokjin’s head at his own will.

 He felt Seokjin’s jaw go slack as he continued thrusting in and out of his mouth. Seokjin tapped his thigh and Hoseok let him come up for air. Seokjin gasped as he came off of Hoseok’s cock.

“Jesus Christ, I’m out of practice,” Seokjin coughed a little bit. “I’m serious, I was a real slut in California, you would have been so impressed.”

“You okay,” Hoseok checked his face for any negative signs but found none.

“Yeah, all good, just needed some air.” He said as he went right back down on Hoseok’s cock.

Hoseok was already close to cuming before Seokjin went up for air so it didn’t take many more thrusts into his mouth for him to give Seokjin a warning. 

“Seokjin I’m cuming,” He moaned.

Seokjin sucked harder on his tip and started stroking the base of his cock harder. Hoseok came with a shout. Seokjin opened his mouth and let the cum spray all over his mouth and face. He climbed up to Hoseok’s face, the both of them now breathing heavily. Seokjin leaned in and kissed Hoseok with his come-filled mouth. Hoseok eagerly allowed himself to be fed back his own come and even stopped kissing him to lick the rest of his come off of Seokjin’s face. 

He pushed Seokjin over so he could return the favor.

Seokjin laid there in his underwear with his legs spread just as Hoseok was before. But Hoseok didn’t just want to suck him off. 

“I want to eat you out if you’d let me.”

Seokjin looked at him in shock but promptly flipped himself over with his back arched. 

“I’d never say no to that my dear Hoseok,” He responded smoothly.

“You got lube?”

Seokjin snapped his fingers and a bottle of strawberry-flavored lube flew from what Hoseok assumed to be his bedroom. Hoseok grabbed it from the air and tugged Seokjin’s underwear down. 

Wow, what an ass. 

The firelight highlighted all his curves in the best way. He ran his fingers along the curves and softly traced his body leaving a trail of goosebumps wherever he touched. He moved his fingers down Seokjin’s thighs admiring the muscle. When he reached the inner part of Seokjin’s thighs, Seokjin flinched and he heard a whimper come out from his mouth. 

“Just get on with it please, my thighs are sensitive too.”

“Well how can I rush when you react so nicely?”

Hoseok spread Seokjin’s thighs more and began sucking on the flesh right under the curve of his ass. Seokjin actually began quivering and he heard muffled moans escape him a couple of times. Hoseok used his magic to uncap the lube and had it spread all over his fingers before he parted Seokjin’s cheeks and stroked him from his balls to his hole. 

Once he was wet enough, Hoseok leaned in and began licking him slowly, enjoying the trembling from Seokjin's thighs. Once he felt Seokjin was wet enough, he slowly added a finger into him. 

Seokjin gasped, “More, go faster.”

Hoseok gripped Seokjin’s ass harder and began sucking on them as he trusted his finger in and out of him faster. Seokjin preened at that and shoved himself back on Hoseok’s face so Hoseok decided to add in another finger and started scissoring them to stretch him out. He was doing something right when he moved his finger over what felt like a small bump. Seokjin practically shouted and Hoseok saw that he was gripping the carpet so tight his knuckles were white. 

Hoseok rubbed over that spot with more vigor and moved his face down to Seokjins balls to suck on. 

“Oh fuck, Hoseok that’s good. Do more of that.”

Hoseoked smiled and began stroking and sucking harder. He moved his mouth up to lick over where his fingers were going in and out while Seokjin moved his hand to stroke his cock. 

Seokjin came with no warning except for a gasp and a high-pitched moan. 

Seokjin flopped his body onto his back, his chest expanding and contracting harshly. Hoseok straddled his thighs and then tilted his head as he observed Seokjin. He had a dazed expression on his face and when he noticed Hoseok staring at him he huffed out a laugh and covered his eyes with his hands.

Hoseok leaned down to whisper in his ear, “You got to come on the carpet babe,”

Seokjin groaned, “Ugh I know. I thought about it right before I came but I didn’t care at the time”

Hoseok chucked and gave him a quick kiss on his forehead.

“I’ll clean it up. Lemme get a napkin for most of it and I can just use a cleaning spell to get rid of the stain.” He ran off to the kitchen to pluck a napkin from the table.

Seokjin gave him a thumbs up watching Hoseok run naked in his house. He turned towards the cauldron which was still baking their cobbler. 

“How much longer does this thing got?”

Hoseok returned with a napkin to harshly scrub what he could from the carpet and used his magic to get rid of the rest of the stain. 

“When I enchanted the cauldron I gave myself an inner clock that tells me when the cobbler is done. It’s got five minutes left, believe it or not. We got a little carried away.”

“Beats what I had planned for us while we were waiting.”

Hoseok laid on top of Seokjin, not caring about their nudity. He studied his face before he couldn’t resist it anymore and reached his fingers out to gently stroke Seokjin’s nose.

“And what did you have planned for us?”

Seokjin hummed lazily, “I was gonna get the board games out of the closet and have us play Candy Land or something.”

Hoseok couldn’t contain his laughter and brought his head down to laugh against Seokjin’s chest.

“Jeez, was it really that bad of an idea?”

Hoseok shook his against Seokjin’s chest, “No, I’m laughing because you’re fucking adorable.”

Seokjin gasped and grabbed Hoseok’s cheeks to squish them together aggressively.

“How am I the adorable one here? You look like a baby squirrel. I’ve been fantasizing about squishing your cheeks ever since I met you.”

Hoseok tried to smile with Seokjin’s hands squeezing his face. Seokjin released his face when he noticed Hoseok struggling to laugh. Once freed, Hoseok swooped in to kiss Seokjin once more before he got up to take the cobbler out of the cauldron. 

Too lazy to go to the kitchen and grab oven mittens, he just used his magic to lift the hot pan up and placed it gently on the stone coffee table next to them.

“I haven’t dated a witch in a while, it’s kind shit to see you use your magic.”

Hoseok looked over at him and snorted, “You should watch me farm, you’d probably cream your pants.”

“Haha. You may be joking but you’re probably right. I guess you could say I’m bananas over you.” 

Hoseok nudged him with his foot, “Enough with the puns. I can’t take much more.”

“Are you saying you don’t like my pick-up limes?” Seokjin pouted.

Hoseok bent down to grab his underwear and chuck it at Seokjin’s face. 

Seokjin shrieked then started giggling, curling into himself. 

Hoseok took his underwear back off the floor and started putting it on until he realized Seokjin was controlling the underwear, not allowing it to go any further.

“Stay the night, Taehyung is staying over at Jungkook’s so you don’t have to worry about any awkward run-ins.”

Hoseok looked at Seokjin who still hadn’t moved from the floor, “Are we going to become a thing after this? I know we’re still spitballing ideas about merging, but I do like you and want us to get closer.” 

Seokjin smiled softly, “Well luckily for you, I am coco-nuts over you as well—”

“I never said that assh—”

“—and I would love for us to get closer as well as merge our businesses. We are on the same page if that’s what you’re worried about.”  

Seokjin stood up to walk over to the cobbler and handed it over to Hoseok, “I will go upstairs and get you a toothbrush, you cover this and put it on the counter.”

Hoseok took the cobbler and followed Seokjin’s orders. After he brushed his teeth and put on the pajamas Seokjin provided him, he made his way over to Seokjin’s bedroom and was met with the man himself lying in bed looking as if he’d fall asleep any second. 

Seokjin watched him come in and opened his arms invitingly. Hoseok slid into his embrace and the two of them seemed to melt into each other. 

Hoseok doesn’t remember falling asleep but he is now being awoken by the sound of an alarm coming from Seokjin’s side of the bed.

Seokjin whined, “Hoseok, make it stop.”

Hoseok whined as well, “It’s on your side, you do it. God it’s so loud, why is it so loud?”

Seokjin made what sounded like a half scream half sob into his pillow before he untangled himself from Hoseok and reached over to turn off the alarm. 

It turns out the two of them are equally horrible morning people. They didn’t say a word to each other while getting dressed. They walked around the house like zombies on autopilot, nothing but grunts came from their mouths until Seokjin poured them coffee and they gulped it down in an instant. 

“If there was a spell for feeling refreshed every morning I’d use that shit like an addict,” Seokjin mumbled into his cup.

“Agreed, c’mon let’s get going, I’m thirty minutes from my shop from here so I gotta get going.”

“Oh shoot that's right. I’ll walk you to your car then.”

Hoseok grabbed the cobbler and headed for the door. He felt Seokjin’s arms wrap around him as he made his way toward his car and the two of them almost tripped on their way over to Hoseok’s car with how close they were walking.

Hoseok giggled as Seokjin peppered his face with kisses and sent him off pretending to cry like a wife seeing her husband off for war.

He smiled the entire way to his shop.

—

When he arrived at the shop, he noted how it was opened and things seemed to be running smoothly on the outside. 

On the inside, however, he was met with Jimin arguing with the parents of the daughter whom Hoseok made the strawberry cobbler for. 

“ Look I told you that he should be here any—” 

Jimin froze as he saw Hoseok enter, “See what did I tell you he’s right there with your cobbler.”

The father shouted, “About damn time, her party starts in twenty minutes you were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago like we agreed.”

“You’re absolutely correct. I’m sorry it took so long, this is on me.” Hoseok was not about to explain to these people why he was so late but it seems he didn’t have to as they did not care. 

The wife cut in, “It’s fine you’re here now here’s the money. Can we just take the cobbler and go now? We really are in a rush.”

“Yes, of course, thank you for trusting me with this. I hope your daughter enjoys the cobbler.”

The mom snatched it from him with a crazed smile on her face, “Lord I hope she goddamn likes it too. Now y’all have a blessed day! Thank you and bye-bye now.” They ran to the car and sped off so fast that Hoseok hoped they wouldn’t knock his cobbler over.

“So, Hobi,” Jungkook started, “You’re late.”

“Wanna tell us why,” Jimin added with a look of false innocence.

Hoseok looked around just in case there was a customer but when he found none, he spilled.

“Okay, so our chemistry ended up being very good. We’re going to merge our businesses. He’s going to work on strawberry desserts and I’ll deal with the jams and the actual strawberries.”

Jungkook nodded, “That’s great and all but why are you late? You mentioned good chemistry?”

Yeah he wouldn’t let the slide would he?

“Okay fine. We slept—Wait, how old are you guys?”

“Twenty-three.” They said together.

“Oh shit, I thought you guys were younger.” He ignored their confused faces and continued his confession, “Right, so we baked the cobbler then slept together then I slept over and we said we want to continue this and get closer.” 

Jimin placed his palm up to Jungkook’s face and Jungkook tsked as he slapped a twenty dollar bill onto Jimin’s hand.

“You assholes betted on me?” Hoseok shrieked.

Jimin shrugged, “We had a fight about it and this was the safest solution.”

Hoseok’s not even going to ask about the other solutions.

One year later

Merging was the best thing Seokjin and Hoseok could have ever done. The two of them are an amazing team and since they already had a reputation throughout town, business was always booming. 

They ended up having to expand to other berries such as blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries because of the continuous complaints about “lack of variety”. 

Hoseok and Seokjin obviously refused to grow any other berry so Taehyung and Namjoon stepped in and took over the non-strawberry part of their products. They were actually great witches and were eager to learn any new gardening spells Hoseok had to offer. 

Yoongi also pitched in. He was an accountant and when he learned how much money they were making he decided to help them out with their finances and work for them part-time. 

Jungkook and Jimin only work in the shop part-time now that they have “real jobs” as they call it. They work in the town's elementary school as second-grade teachers so clearly, they needed a job at the store to make actual money.

Hoseok was in the middle of mopping the floor when he felt arms wrap around his torso and his nose was filled with the scent of freshly plucked strawberries.

“Can I help you sir?”

“Hobah,” Seokjin whined, “Can we go home now, the floor was clean before you mopped it. We’ve been here for ten hours now and my feet hurt.”

Hoseok shook his head, “Five more minutes and I’ll be done. You can wait in the car if you need to.”

Seokjin shook his head and clapped his hands. The mop in Hoseok’s hand lurched forward and started mopping the floor itself.

“Jin we have too many windows!”

“It’s ten p.m. on a Sunday night, and no one is around here. The only car in the lot is yours.” 

Hoseok looks outside just now realizing how late it has gotten.

“Oh shoot, you’re right.”

“C’mon let’s go back to your place. Let the mop clean the rest up. I'm tired.”

The two of them decided to keep their two houses in order to separate their strawberry fields. They’ve stuck to their original idea of having one person use their strawberries for desserts and the other to use it for jams and packaging the strawberries in cartons. The hardest thing they had to go through with the merge was finding a new name but after many fights that ended in tears, they just settled on Berry Good Berries. 

Okay so that was a lie, Hoseok settled on the name. Seokjin wouldn’t consider anything else. He still cringes every time he sees their logo when he goes in for work.

Anyway, life is going berry well and Hoseok has found the apple of his eye who he will cherry-ish for the rest of his life.