Jungkook hummed along to the tune of the music playing from his record player. He danced lightly on his toes, swirling and sidestepping to the beat, careful not to spill the bottle in his hand. He tiptoed over to his work desk and propped himself on the table top. He leisurely shifted his hips as he re-read the page in his book before pouring the liquid into a large bowl. He twirled his finger over the bowl to start the mixing process before turning to the side of his desk where he kept his herb. He briefly caressed his prized rose plant. He had it since he first went to school and endured quite a bit of experimentation. Normally roses are picky plants, but somehow his fought to stay with him. Jungkook smiled and did a random step sequence before picking a few leaves off the plant next to the rose. He tossed them in and watch as the mixture released a large puff of yellow smoke. He swirled his finger again, encouraging the mixture to continue spinning. Jungkook grabbed his bottle of fairy dust and sprinkled it over the bowl before capping it and holding it to his mouth like a microphone.

 

“I'M NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP-”

 

Jungkook swung his free arm, “NEVER GONNA LET YOU DO-CRAP!”

 

Jungkook jumped as his hand hit something on his desk, knocking it over into his plants. He dropped the bottle of fairy dust and nearly leaped over to his plants in search of the object that had fallen.

 

“!” Jungkook cursed as he rifled through the leaves of various plants, until he got to his precious rose and saw the shine a clear bottle, “ MY BABIES!”

 

Jungkook swiped everything off his desk (including his bowl of awake tonic that he was supposed to be making but that could wait) and grabbed the potted rose, gently placing it on the now cleared desktop.

 

“Oh please don’t be the Fire Lily extract, pleeease don’t be fire lily extract,” Jungkook chanted as he fished the bottle from between the thorns and leaves of his plant.

 

He in a breath and held the bottle up, label side down. Gingerly, he flipped the bottle over and read the label.

 

“Life Elixir...ok that’s fi-” Jungshook froze, “, wait. LIFE ELIXIR!”

 

Jungkook stared down at his rose's, eyes wide.

 

“Uhhh...I’m gonna need to get Jin,” Jungkook squeal and sprinted out of the witch hut and into the house.

 

“JIIIIIIIIN HELP I THINK I JUST MESSED UP!” Jungkook shouted as soon as he opened the back door.

 

“Ya! I’m right here!” Jin jumped at the younger boy’s shouting. He was sitting on the couch with his familiar an orange ferret named Tae. However, when the older witch jumped up, the poor ferret was thrown to the floor and looked very unhappy because of it.

 

“What did you do?” Jin sighed, picking Tae up off the ground despite his annoyed hissing.

 

“I might have just split some life elixir into my rose pot and I just need you to come tell me everything is going to be ok because I CANNOT lose the thing ok?” Jungkook nearly whimpered, bouncing on the balls of his feet nervously.

 

Jin sighed and tucked Tae into his shoulder, leisurely the ferret’s back. He adjusted the brim of his hat so that it would shade the ferret before walking past Jungkook to the hut. Jungkook trailed behind, getting nervous and nervous as the music playing from inside the hut got louder.

 

“Were you dancing and working again?” Jin stated more than he asked, opening the door with a flick of his wrist. He pointed at the record player and with a swipe down it closed itself and stopped playing. Jin tugged Tae off his shoulder and placed him in the window of the hut before walking over to Jungkook’s work desk. He looked over the flower heads carefully before pulling his wand out from his pocket and touching a petal carefully. Jin simply moved the flower away so he could look at the roots. There didn’t seem to be any traces of the liquid in the soil, not wet spot or dark soil. The only evidence of Jungkook’s mistake came from the base of the plant, where the roots transitioned into the stems.

 

“Jungkook, come see this,” the older which beckoned his apprentice over, “You see that?”

 

“It’s...glowing?” Jungkook asked in disbelief, “Uh, what does that mean then?”

 

Jin was silent for a moment, choosing to simply stare at the plant, “Well, I got nothing.”

 

Jin answered before pocketing his wand and going back to window to pick up Tae.

 

“W-What? Wait! How can you not know?” Jungkook chased his mentor to the window.

 

“I don’t know Jungkook. I’ve never seen something like that before nor have I heard of someone putting life elixir in a plant. Just put it in the window and keep an eye on it. Who knows, you might have just discovered something new,” Jin shrugged

 

Before patting the boy on the shoulder.

 

Jungkook deflated as he watched Jin leave the hut. He was beyond worried and Jin was no help at all. Sighing, Jungkook figured the best he could do was what Jin suggested (and he still needed to clean up the tonic that was currently being soaked up by the wooden floors ‘whoops, that will probably stain.’) So, Jungkook trudged back over to his work desk to get his precious rose. From above, he really couldn’t tell any difference. He carefully poked some leaves out of the way, much like Jin had done earlier, to see that, yes, it was still glowing. Jungkook picked up the pot and gently put it in the windowsill. He positioned them the get the most even amount of sun before grabbing his watering can and giving them a little sp, hoping that the lixir in the soil would not have an adverse reaction to the liquid.

 

“My poor baby,” Jungkook cried as he one of the flowers, “Ow - dang it, I'm sorry.”

 

Jungkook frowned as he pulled his hand away to look at the new nick on his finger, blood pool in from the wound. He sighed and looked over the plant once more. Seeing there was nothing else he could do, Jungkook reluctantly turned away and began cleaning up the mess he made earlier.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Jungkook went on with his studies as per usual. He was still worried about his roses but Jin kept him busy, even to the point of giving him extra work that required the utmost focus. Jungkook bitterly thought that those specific tasks were some kind of passive aggressive punishment for spilling the life elixir, which was not cheap in the slightest. Still, it helped him learn anyways. He got a little less clumsy and a little more exact in his measurements. He stopped playing music while working and everything seemed to be going ok. His roses didn't seem to have changed much at all. If anything, the bright pink flowers were hanging around much longer than they usually would.

 

He honestly didn’t notice a change until around a month after the incident.

 

Jungkook had been doing his routine watering at the time. When he reached the pot of roses he noticed something strange. There was a rather large crack in the terra cotta pot. Little pieces of loose, dry dirt fell from the area and littered the windowsill. It was strange. Jungkook carefully picked up the pot, mindful of its compromised integrity, and took it to his work bench. Upon examination, the crack seemed to run the height of the pot, nearly splitting it from lip to base. The plant seemed to have risen slightly in the area, almost as if the pot were too small and it was trying to break free.

 

“That’s not supposed to happen,” Jungkook gasped.

 

Flowers were supposed to grow to the size of their pot. Something in their biology told them that when their roots hit clay it was time to stop. But not jungkook’s rose. It seemed to want to grow more and was not going to let some brittle pottery get in its way. Jungkook wondered whether he should just repot it or get Jin first to tell him about the development in the case. He stopped to look around to see if they even had a bigger pot laying around. The roses were probably Jungkook's largest plant in the first place (because he had a soft spot for it and they were so pretty he might have well give them more space to flower). Even so, they kept most of the plants pretty small for storage reasons. Upon looking around, Jungkook found that they did not actually have something to the scale he wanted. After all, he figured if the rose wanted to grow now, it would probably want to still grow in a larger pot, so the best option would be to get it the biggest pot posible, right? So, seeing how he had nothing to put the flowers in, he had to go to Jin first (because Jungkook is a broke witch in training and seokjin the green was arguably the most famous botanical witch on this side of the county).

 

Jungkook gave one last worried look to the rose plant before leaving the hut. Once again he entered the main house through the back door, though this time without shouting. Jin was, once again, sitting on the couch cuddling with his familiar.

 

“Hey, uh, Jin?” Jungkook called the elder’s attention.

 

“Jin looked up from the ferret in his lap, “What’s up sonny?”

 

“Ew,” Jungkook cringed at the nickname, “I kinda need you to come look at my roses.”

 

Jin sat up a bit at the mention of the plant, “Did something happen?”

 

“Yeah,” Jungkook nodded, “I think the elixir is working as some sort of amplified fertilizer or something. It's kind of growing too big for the pot.”

 

“Well then let’s see!” Jin smiled and picked up Tae, holding his face level with Jin’s own, “Do you want to come see the pretty flowers kit?”

 

The ferret said nothing and simply hung limp in the witch’s grip.

 

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

 

---------------------

 

Jungkook nearly screamed when he opened the door of the hut. He stopped abruptly in the doorway causing Jin to bump into. He did not even feel Tae’s whiskers on the back of his neck as he stared at his work desk in shock.

 

“What’s the-oh,” Jin said simply, “That is interesting.”

Jungkook broke out of his stupor and strided over to his desk in four quick steps. He ran both hands through his messy black hair desperately wanting to ask how, but unable to voice it. Sitting upon his desk, where it had been left earlier, was his rose plant. However, the pot that was previously clinging to life around the cramped plant had completely bust, dark dirt spilling over jagged breaks and dirtying his workspace. The plants was situated almost diagonally, as it had nothing to hold it upright. Short whitish roots poked out of the soil in places and some of the flower heads drooped.

 

“AH!” Jungkook finally shouted, spooking Tae who bristled on Jin’s shoulder, “It was intact like five minutes ago! What am I going to do!”

 

“Jungkook, calm down, “ Jin sighed and followed after the boy, “You can just repot it.”

 

“We don’t have anything big enough, especially now…” Jungkook whined.

 

“Now?” Jin quirked an eyebrow.

 

“I think it grew in the past five minutes. The pot was only cracked before,” Jungkook brushed some dirt away and picked of a shard of clay, “Now it's decimated.”

 

“It looks like it's trying to grow something,” Jin speculated, eyes trained on the base of the plant.

 

“What?” Jungkook asked, trying to see what exactly Jin saw.

 

“Look here,” Jin instructed as he pulled out his wand and pointed to the base of the plant.

 

The roots had been exposed quite a bit, showing an arching of sorts circled around the base. It was almost shaped as it it were the top of an ovoid (egg-shaped sphere). Jin poked his wand into the soil and knocked it away, despite Jungkook’s panicked whimpering. He exposed a bit more of the side to see the shape continue.

 

“It looks like an egg,” Jin postulated, taking his wand back to wipe on his thigh.

 

He bought the tip up to his plush lips and tapped in some contemplative gesture.

 

“You should write this down!” He suddenly exclaimed, flicking his wand and making a leather bound journal fly out of his desk across the room and a feather pen nearly stab itself into the wall behind Jungkook.

 

“What about my plant?” Jungkook whined

 

“The only difference between science and messing around is writing it down!” Jin giddily exclaimed as he grabbed the pen and started scribbling in the book, mid-air.

Jungkook looked at his plant dejectedly; it was practically begging him for help.

 

“Here,” Jin said once he finished writing, tucking the pen into the book and then tossing both to Jungkook, “Write everything that has happened in here while I go to Home Depot and get the biggest friggin planter I can find.”

 

Jungkook’s eyes lit up happily, “Thank you!”

 

“Make sure you write!” Jin admonished as he tugged Tae off his shoulders, “Tae will keep an eye on you while I’m gone. Please don’t spill anything else.”

 

“Ok, ok,” Jungkook sighed as he grabbed a chair and sat at his desk, glumly brushing some dirt away to make space for the journal.

 

“That’s my boy,” Jin smiled before ruffling the young witch’s hair and leaving.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Jungkook couldn’t believe it, but he actually had to replant the rose four more times in the next two months. The “egg” as he and Jin had started to call it, kept growing and growing until it was about the size of a microwave. He was beginning to wonder if it would ever stop growing.

 

He would learn at the six month mark that yes, it would keep growing. Though luckily for them it seemed to slow down quite a bit. However that didn’t negate the fact that it was the size of their dishwasher. Jungkook had to give it almost three pails of water everyday. It had already reached the point of immobility, easily the largest and heaviest object in the small hut. It outgrew every planter they put it in so they had to make their own out of wood.

 

Jungkook felt like he was years older, not just six months. He hated to admit it, but his mistake had really begun to teach him a lesson of responsibility. The lessons Jin forced on him wised him up quite a bit. The constant care of the ever growing plant made him feel like he was caring for a child. His journal was full of observations and measurement. It was a bit messy, but it was the best he could do for his first research notes.

 

“So how’s it going?” Jin asked as he stepped into the hut.

 

Jungkook was sitting on the floor in front of the massive plant, sketching its appearance into his notes.

 

“Uh, good I guess?” Jungkook looked up briefly before moving back to his notebook, “I took some measurements earlier and I think its growth rate is slowing down.”

“Good,” Jin groaned, flopping dramatically onto Jungkook’s work desk, jostling the ferret that was hanging around his neck, “I can’t handle much more of that thing.”

 

Jungkook just scoffed, slightly offended at Jin’s words but he would never say it out loud.

 

“I wonder if there’s something inside there,” Jungkook muttered as he added shading to his sketch.

 

Jin heard and gave him a quizzical look before back up to the plant, “So, do you think it will...hatch then?”

 

“Uh...maybe?” Jungkook looked up at Jin and shrugged his shoulders, “Should we try dissecting it?”

 

“Let’s wait. If something is growing in there, we could hurt i by taking it out prematurely,” Jin decided.

 

“Like a...baby?” Jungkook asked with large eyes,”Oh dear Lord, I'm not ready to be a father Jin! I can barely keep my plants alive without messing things up!”

 

“Not a human baby idiot,” Jin rolled his eyes, “It might just be a new case of magical plants, like Devil’s Fingers.”

 

“I would rather not have created a carnivorous plant with thorny vines ready to capture me and eat me alive,” Jungkook replied coldly.

 

“Well it might be gentler, but the point is we don't know and we don't want to mess it up by being impatient,”Jin snapped.

 

Jungkook raised his hands in surrender,”Ok, ok. I won't touch it, geeze.”

 

__________________________________

 

Jungkook continued to care for the plant, careful not to ‘anger’ it. It grew a bit more over the next few months but never grew any higher than Jungkook’s hip. The nearly a fourth of the top of the egg extended out of the soil despite Jungkook’s many attempts to cover it. There was always a faint pinkish glow peeking out from in between interwoven roots. Over time the roots began to darken in color, changing from the healthy green and white to brown. They became stringy and dry, pieces flaking off like hairs. Jungkook started worrying the most when the flowers began to wither. Their petals changed from peachy pink to yellow and shriveled, petals falling one by one into the dirt beneath them.

 

“Jin, I think it's dying,”Jungkook said one even after his normal practice time. J8n was sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner, a full plate on the other side of the table waiting.

 

“Why?” Jin asked through a mouthful of rice.

 

Jungkook sat down behind the full plate and sighed,”It's wilting and drying up. Maybe the soil ran out of nutrients, or the box is too small. It's been-” jungkook started counting on his fingers, “-It's been nearly nine months already.”

 

“I can call one of my herbology friends if you want. This is the first time it's done this right?” Jin asked as he put more meat into Jungkook’s plate.

 

“Yeah.” Jungkook nodded sadly.

 

“I'll call them tomorrow. She's probably not awake right now. Get some rest and check on it in the morning, ok?” Jin smiled softly.

 

Jungkook nodded and continued eating his meal. Later that night, after he had washed up and gotten in bed, he idk dreamed or something about the rose

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing Jungkook did when he woke up was go down to the hut. He didn’t even bother changing out of his pyjamas or even put shoes on as he ran outside into the crisp, dewy morning with bare feet and a flimsy white t-shirt. The hem of his pyjama bottoms soaked up water from the grass and stuck to his ankles causing a cold chill to run up his legs, though he didn’t believe the chill was really from the wet grass.

 

Jungkook burst into the hut and nearly fainted upon the sight of his rose bush. It had nearly dried up completely. No flowers were left upon its head and all but a few crisp brown leaves had left the stems. The bundle of roots that formed the egg were pale brown and cracked, some poking upwards with their new form of rigidity.

 

“No no no no nonononono,” Jungkook panicked, sprinting over to the plant.

 

Jungkook grabbed fistfulls of his hair in agony as he stared down at this poor roses. He gently let go of himself and gently placed a hand on the dry egg. The roots made a sickening crack as soon as he touched them, suddenly ripping away from his touch and falling into the center of the egg. Jungkook jolted back, hand nearly hitting himself in his haste.

 

“Crap--crap,” Jungkook cursed, hands back to pulling at his hair.

Suddenly the dull glow that was usually present in the rose’s healthy state pulsed brightly. This pinkish glow turned into a bright light, illuminating the small but for a moment before fading completely. Jungkook had frozen in shock. When the light faded he was not sure if he should go forward or not. Then there was more crackling and the top of the egg fell away from the first hole. Jungkook spurred forward, hands gripping the edge of the wooden planter. When his eyes focused on the inside of the egg he finally lost control of his body.

 

“Oh .”

 

Jungkook’s knees buckled, hitting the side of the planter harshly. His chest felt forward, catching on the edge of the planter and knocking the breath out of his lungs. His face fell forwards, nearly landing in the dirt. All of this created white the commotion, startling the inhabitant of the egg from its slumber.

 

Bright pink eyes opened and stared at Jungkook’s wheezing form in shock. Jungkook was already unable to control himself, so the added shock of meeting eyes with the creature below him was no help. Already wheezing from the heavy but hit to his chest, Jungkook choked on his own saliva, which spurred more wheezing and coughing. The creature in the egg looked positively terrified. So Jungkook did the only thing he could think of to give it some space. He fell.

 

Jungkook pushed away from the planter, falling onto his back (which did nothing to help either). Jungkook rolled onto his stomach and lied there until he caught his breath. Another loud crack and a thump called Jungkook back to attention. He rolled over and crawled over to the planter. A soft whimper came from the egg, so Jungkook sat up on his knees to look inside.

 

“Oh, well, that seems to be a problem.” Jungkook couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

 

The rose creature had tried to crawl out of the planter, only to have some of the dirt cave in around it.

 

“I’ll...uh...dig you out,” Jungkook offered hesitantly, “Oh geeze, do you even understand me?”

 

Pink eyes flickered over to Jungkook and with ruffle of pink petals the creature nodded.

 

“Oh.” Jungkook blinked owlishly, “Uh, here lemme help then.”

 

Jungkook shakily stood up and bent over the edge of the planter. He dug into the fallen dirt and shoveled it out with his hands, exposing the flowery creature a bit. Jungkook recoiled slightly when his fingers brushed through dirt only to touch soft, velvety skin. Jungkook’s eyes widened and he brushed away more dirt, uncovering a human shoulder.

 

“Oh ,” Jungkook numbly repeated, “You are definitely not a flower.”

 

The creature shook its head vigorously, shaking dirt from the petals on its head. However, when he shook the dirt off, petals fell as well revealing silky pink hair.

 

“Not a flower,” Jungkook choked.

 

The creature shifted a bit in the dirt, freeing its arms and looking up at Jungkook with those pink eyes, “Not a flower.”

 

Whatever Jungkook had wanted to say got stuck in the back of his throat, instead coming out as a rather embarrassing grunt as he fell backwards in shock. The flower-person(?) yelped in response, jolting backwards and causing more dirt to fall on itself.

 

“Ah! Sorry!” Jungkook jumped up and started shoveling out the dirt that had just fallen, “Oh dear lord, you're going to get smothered…”

 

Jungkook focused on freeing the flower-child. He had decided child because the creature was still pretty small and innocent. It really just “hatched” in a sense so it had to be a child, right? As Jungkook brushed more dirt off the creature's body he couldn't help himself from studying it closely. He had uncovered it down to the stomach. Jungkook took note of the flat chest (slightly surprised to find that it matched a more masculine anatomy). As he dug closer and closer to the hips, he wondered if it had a at all, or would it be like an actual rose with both masculine and feminine organs. Jungkook froze as his fingers came into contact with a folded knee. Jungkook briefly looked down, satisfied to find that the flower child was unconsciously covering himself with folded legs.

 

“Um, let me get you something to cover up with before I get you out completely. Just...uh, stay there. Don’t move,” Jungkook stated dumbly.

 

Jungkook held his palm out in a ‘stay’ motion before slowly backing out of the hut (awkwardly hitting his back on the door because he was keeping his eyes on the flower-kid). Jungkook chuckled in embarrassment while blindly feeling for the doorknob. Once he grabbed it, he sided out out the door. He let the door close quietly before sprinting to the main house.

 

“JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!”

 

“AIGOO JUNGKOOK!” Jin shouted in surprise, tossing an entire skillet-full of scrambled eggs into the air.

 

“JIN IT HATCHED!” Jungkook shouted as he ran past Jin, the kitchen and minefield of scrambled eggs. Jungkook wrenched open the door to the linen closet and grabbed the first blanket he saw and sprinted back through the hallway. He probably looked like some kind of superhero with a large yellow cape waving behind him as he ran past Jin again (and almost getting caught in the door).

“It hatched?” Jin repeated, watching with a frown as Tae practically vacuumed up the spilt breakfast. Then his words finally computed, “OH MY GOD IT HATCHED!”

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Jungkook quietly opened the hut door and poked his head in, “Hey Rose, you still in here?”

 

He heard a quiet shuffling and a soft murmur in response.

 

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Jungkook smiled and walked over to the planter, “Here, cover yourself with this and I’ll pull you out.”

 

The flower-child gave a small nod and lifted its arms. Jungkook took note of the scattered green leaves on its arms, almost as if they were growing from its veins. Once it had been covered by the blanket, Jungkook reached down and looped his arms around the creature’s back, lifting it up until it was able to rest on the edge of the planter. Jungkook shifted the blanket around the flower child’s shoulders, noticing more petals and leaves littering its body. He spun the creature around so that its legs hung off the edge of the planter.

 

Jungkook really couldn’t help himself. Really, he couldn’t. The thing was just too pretty and he had yet to get a good look at it. Jungkook gently framed the creatures face with his own hands, moving it so that they were eye to eye. He felt the tickle of rose petals beneath his fingers. The flower-child looked up at him curiously. It’s eyes were round like almonds and its skin was smooth and soft like the very petals that littered its face. To Jungkook the creature seemed more masculine with its short hair and square jaw, but he wouldn’t push it. After all, he wasn’t too sure if he could consider it human, plant or both.

 

“Jungkook!”

 

The flower--child jumped in Jungkook’s hands, eyes flitting over to Jin who stood in the doorway. Jungkook placed a hand on the rose’s shoulder and held a finger up to his lips.

 

“Oh, sorry,” Jin whispered, walking forwards slowly, “Hi there, friend...h-he? Can understand us, right?”

 

“Uh, yeah...but I’m not sure if...it...is a boy or a girl,” Jungkook supplied.

 

“Neither.”

 

Jin and Jungkook whipped their heads in the direction of the rose.

 

“You...uh... you sure?” Jin asked gently.

 

“Yeah, we don’t care what you call yourself. I-I mean you can always decide later,” Jungkook added.

 

“I...I'm both?” the rose restated, pink eyes wavering between Jungkook and Jin.

 

“Ok, do you have a name too?” Jin asked.

 

“No,” the rose simply replied, “Well maybe? He calls me Baby sometimes.”

 

“Eh? You- you remember that?!” Jungkook blushed.

 

“Ahh, let’s not call you that,” Jin laughed, “That’s something for just you and Jungkookie here.”

 

“You are Jungkook,” the flower-boy reaffirmed, pointing a finger at the blushing boy and inadvertently causing the blanket to slip from his shoulder.

 

“Ah!” Jungkook yelped and quickly jumped forward to catch the blanket before it could fall far, “Try to keep this on...uh...ba-baby.”

 

Jungkook could feel his blush travel down his neck as Jin snickered beside them. He was pretty sure his face rivaled his rose’s pink petals.

 

The rose blinked in confusion but nodded nonetheless.

 

“Eh, how about we give you another name,” Jin snickered, “ONe that we all can call you.”

 

“Ok.” the rose nodded.

 

Jungkook just looked at Jin with a question in his posture. He had no ideas. In fact, he had so few ideas that he’s pretty sure his brain was fried. He had been through too many shocks for one day.

 

“Ah ha! I got it,” Jin snapped his fingers, “Jimin!”

 

“Jimin?” Jungkook repeated.

 

“Yup, it cute right? And gender neutral,” Jin smiled.

 

“Uh, I guess?” Jungkook nodded.

 

“So Jimin it is then. Let’s get you inside and clean up then,” Jin offered, “Jungkookie will take good care you. After all, you are his precious baby!”

 

“YAH SEOKJIN!”