“For ’s sake, Junmyeon,” Kyungsoo hissed, wincing when the bubbling bright green potion sloshed out of the beaker.

Jongin looked up in time to see the dragon let out an indignant puff, slithering out from underneath Kyungsoo’s feet.

“You were out to see Baekhyun again, weren’t you,” Kyungsoo muttered, wiping the moss that sprung up on his hand from the spilled potion after he set it down.

“I was not,” Junmyeon huffed, scrabbling up the bookcase to his favorite perch. “And that has nothing to do you with you trying to step on me because you weren’t looking.”

Kyungsoo stuck his tongue out at the dragon, flicking a bit of moss his way, but Junmyeon was too fast, dodging it with a dirty look. Jongin smothered a giggle.

“People actually like this?” the dragon muttered, giving the moss a disgusted sniff.

“It’s edible moss, of course they do,” Kyungsoo said, rolling his eyes.

“It tastes like coconut ginger,” Jongin said, reaching past Kyungsoo to dip his finger into the potion.

“No tasting,” Kyungsoo hissed.

“Sorry,” Jongin murmured. He the moss that formed on his fingertip with downcast eyes, heat in his cheeks.

He’d been Kyungsoo’s apprentice for close to three months now, and was finally accepting the fact that he had a ridiculously huge crush on the alchemist. Kyungsoo wasn’t that much older than him, which was surprising given his skill, but that was also why he had a prestigious reputation. The alchemist refused to open a bigger shop, taking orders in the cozy brick-walled interior of The Secret Bee, which Jongin had come to love.

He’d also come to love that he was Kyungsoo’s only apprentice. Jongin had become quite protective of the alchemist in the past months, and as his protectiveness grew, so did his crush. Jongin had lost his train of thought more than once because of Kyungsoo’s cuteness. There was something about the way Kyungsoo’s cheeks turned pink with heat and effort when he cooked potions, the way he chewed on his bottom lip in concentration as he measured ingredients, the way his eyes twinkled when he spoke about alchemy. Yeah, Jongin was completely infatuated.

Which, unfortunately, made him clumsy. Kyungsoo nagged him about it a lot, which only made it worse, because then he was clumsy and embarrassed, but he couldn’t help it. He’d knocked over two batches of blackberry pudding, burned himself steaming tea, broken a jar of ground demon horns, burned a batch of brimstone froth, and stepped on Junmyeon’s tail twice. He’d also stepped on Baekhyun, a stray magenta-colored miniature dragon (which some people affectionately called “teacup dragons” even though they were about the size of a cat) who liked to visit, mostly to mooch Junmyeon’s food, but also because he and the teal dragon were “boyfies.” Jongin didn’t count stepping on Baekhyun as an incident because Baekhyun wasn’t supposed to be in their shop anyway.

“I know you’re not letting the spirit of box boil,” Kyungsoo warned, breaking Jongin out of his reverie.

Jongin cursed, rushing to the stove. Thankfully it wasn’t boiling, but it was just about to, bubbles pearling on the inside of the wood-lined pot. He took it off the flame and brought it to the counter, hissing when he brought it dangerously close to Kyungsoo’s arm, but the other didn’t seem to notice. Sometimes, when the days were slow, Jongin would imagine himself conjuring up incredible potions, and doing so with such efficiency and flair that Kyungsoo would swoon and faint, and Jongin would save him from falling into a cauldron. And sometimes he would imagine being Kyungsoo’s apprentice, years later, with a coordination so awesome that the two of them in the workroom would look like dancers following a royal choreography. But first he needed to help Kyungsoo finish this potion and survive til the end of the day. Yeah, baby steps.

 

🝮

 

He wanted to make something special. Something that would wow Kyungsoo, something that would sweep Kyungsoo off his feet and make him see something in Jongin, preferably something caring and romantic and beautiful. Love potions were never actually love potions; creating something that robbed someone of their consent was illegal, but the love potions lots of alchemists made were about sharpening the senses, making the drinker more aware of everything (including any lingering or deep-rooted romantic feelings). These potions could also charm people, a few hours of good cheer and giggly sweetness (like drunkenness, but without the impairment). Jongin was going for the latter, if only to fall more in love with the brightness of Kyungsoo’s smile.

He started with blackberries, the beaker warming when he put the flame at a simmer. Then he cut a fresh Dreamfruit, which looked like a cross between a persimmon and a dragonfruit, square and pink and fleshy. He scooped out the fuchsia insides, seeds and all, and plopped it into the beaker, the jasmine-tinted perfume of the fruit wafting through the back end of the shop as it mixed with the blackberries. It was the last one in the basket, but he didn’t worry; the result of this potion would be so magnificent there would be no way Kyungsoo could get upset about that.

“Should you be touching any of this?” Baekhyun asked.

Jongin jumped and cursed, his eyes widening when an extra drop of Qilin tears plopped into the beaker. He took a deep breath. One drop wouldn’t going to make that much of a difference, would it? He shot the magenta dragon a dirty look anyway, growling when Baekhyun hopped up the steps and sniffed the beaker.

“I’m allowed to cook,” Jongin grunted.

The dragon gave him a skeptical look then trotted over to a rind of grapefruit Jongin left out earlier. “You don’t even keep your workstation clean.”

“I’ll do it all when I’m done,” Jongin hissed.

“Kyungsoo always says you have to clean as you go,” Baekhyun quipped.

“Why are you here?” Jongin snapped. Sometimes the little dragon was a pain in the , and it was in those moments that Jongin wished Kyungsoo enforced the “No Stray Dragons” rule.

“To see Junmyeon,” Baekhyun said, with as much snootiness in his voice as he could muster. “But it’s also fun to see what a train wreck you are.”

“I am not!” Jongin spluttered. Just then the beaker sneezed out an iridescent cloud that smelled of jasmine and early morning mist. He grinned and threw in a pinch of storm sugar, for the clarity of cold rain. Then he pouted. He knew what it was missing. A bit of ordinary rosemary, enough to tamp down the jasmine and bring out the tea-smoked arcane honey, and the added sweetness of raspberries.

“I don’t like the look on your face right now,” the dragon mumbled, but he hopped down from the table to follow Jongin into the storeroom anyway. The door closed with a click.

“I don’t know why you’re worrying so much,” Jongin huffed as he searched through the jars and boxes. The dragon jumped onto one of the shelves, pausing when a few jars clattered noisily. “Don’t knock anything over! You shouldn’t even be on these shelves.”

“Hey, I’m not the one making some random concoction in the other room without permission,” Baekhyun said, his ears swiveling. The dragon leaned out as far as he could, gasping when he looked through the window of the storeroom door.

“What?” Jongin half-snarled.

Then he turned around and saw Kyungsoo and Junmyeon walking into the room. The liquid in the beaker had turned a dangerous shade of purple, boiling and bubbling and steaming up the room. Kyungsoo peered at it, then moved to bring down the flame when the beaker coughed up another cloud, this one dense and the color of mulberry jam. Kyungsoo yelped and Junmyeon bared his teeth, the dragon scuttling away from the turbulent cloud.

The door was locked. Jongin tried to turn the doorknob, cursing spectacularly when it didn’t budge. He nudged the door with his shoulder, then threw himself against it, but it was of no use. The door wouldn’t open.

“Oh ,” he whimpered.

“ is right,” Baekhyun chimed in. Jongin was too panicked to notice when the dragon had perched itself on his shoulders, little claws pricking his skin. “You’ll be lucky to keep your head after this.”

The plume of plum smoke shimmered and spread, mushrooming until it took up most of the room. He could only see Kyungsoo’s scowl, hazy as the smoke grew dense. Even Junmyeon’s turquoise scales were lost in the plum. Until—

Until it was gone. The smoke disappeared into their bodies, leaving the room pristine. Jongin tried the door knob, cursing when it opened smoothly.

They were both unconscious. Junmyeon was on his side, the cream scales of his belly gleaming in the filtered sunlight. And Kyungsoo… he looked peaceful slumped against the worktable, full lips gently parted as his eyelashes brushed against the dome of his cheek.

“Do you think he’s dead?” Baekhyun half-whispered.

“Shut up or I’ll make a purse out of you,” Jongin hissed. He propped the jar of raspberries on the countertop before brushing away a stray lock of hair from Kyungsoo’s temple. He gently pressed against Kyungsoo’s neck, breathing out a sigh of relief when he felt the flutter of Kyungsoo’s pulse.

But his relief was short-lived. Kyungsoo stirred, frowning as he opened his eyes.

“You look small,” he said. Then, “why do I sound like this? And why do I have hands?”

“Wh— you have hands because you’re human!” Jongin squeaked.

Their eyes widened, meeting in panic.

“Oh. Oh no. , ,” Jongin dropped to his knees, crawling to the turquoise dragon’s side. The cream of his belly rose and fell with his breaths, a tiny, yellow claw twitching.

“He’s going to skin you alive,” Junmyeon said.

“So am I!” Baekhyun squawked, hopping off Jongin’s back to sit on Junmyeon’s lap. “My boyfriend is human now!”

Jongin his lips, the hard scales of the dragon’s snout. It sneezed, a puff of plum the only warning Jongin had before it opened its eyes.

“Okay. It’s okay, Kyungsoo. Just take it slow and don’t freak o—”

A tiny, draconic scream pierced the shop.

“What the ?!” The dragon hopped to its feet, and promptly tipped over. “Wha— No. No, this can’t be happening. Why am I a dragon?”

“Not just any dragon,” Baekhyun grumbled. “Junmyeon.”

Kyungsoo looked up at his body, at the look of bewilderment in Junmyeon’s eyes, then he met Jongin’s panic-stricken eyes.

“You,” Kyungsoo hissed, clambering to his feet again. He took a wobbly step towards Jongin, claws clacking against the stone floor. “I’m going to eat you in your sleep.”

Jongin blanched, inching away from the dragon. Kyungsoo had turned a very light shade of aqua, his horns a dangerous shade of magenta.

“I’m sorry,” he whimpered.

“As you should be!” Kyungsoo screeched, but the force of his voice was too much and he toppled over. “Make another abominable potion and fix this!”

“I c-can’t,” Jongin said under his breath, wincing when the dragon showed his teeth.

“Why not?” Kyungsoo snarled.

“We’re out of aether pudding, and there isn’t enough arcane honey or Qilin tears—”

“Qilin tears? Why were you anywhere near the Qilin tears?” Kyungsoo squawked.

Jongin opened his mouth to reply when the sound of shattering glass cut him off. They looked right to find Junmyeon clinging to the edge of the counter, the raspberry preserves jar broken on the masonry while Junmyeon gave them a wide-eyed look.

“I think this is going to take some getting used to,” Junmyeon chuckled, wobbling as he finished standing up. Baekhyun, who’d hopped onto the countertop, wormed his way between Junmyeon’s arm and side, sniffing the air cautiously.

“I cannot believe this is happening right now,” Kyungsoo screeched.

“I’m sorry,” Jongin said in a small voice.

A thick, hard silence fell over them, interrupted only by the clack of Kyungsoo’s claws against the stone floor as the little dragon took two steps towards Jongin.

“Get,” the dragon growled, “out.”

Jongin stood and swallowed hard. He took a step towards the mess on the floor, but Kyungsoo’s deep-throated growl stopped him; instead, he edged his way out of the shop.

The cobblestones were limned with sunlight, and the scent of crushed raspberries followed him out onto the street. Ordinarily it would have been a beautiful sight, but now it only made his stomach slosh. He was definitely fired, for one, which because he needed the apprenticeship. And not only was he definitely fired, but Kyungsoo definitely hated him now, which made his heart constrict. He’d only wanted to make something nice for him, and yet…

He scuffed his boot against the trolley stop, hands in his pockets, as he waited. Of course he’d ruined this. Jongin sniffed, cursing when tears pricked his eyes. Crying wouldn’t solve anything! But it would at least soothe his aching heart, so he sniffled a few times, wiped his face, and went home.

 

🝰

 

The next morning, Jongin still rose early, bathed, ate breakfast, and took the trolley to The Secret Bee. A moment’s hesitation in front of the door to gather his courage, then he walked in.

The shop felt eerily deserted. The usual bustle was missing, as well as the scents of ozone and gold, honey and herbs. Jongin gulped and made his way to the back.

“He’s back!” he heard Baekhyun shout before he’d even finished opening the door.

“Ugh, I don’t know how you can work with a nose like this,” Junmyeon grumbled, “I didn’t smell him come in.”

Jongin tried to smile, but he was sure it looked as pained as it felt. Baekhyun was sitting on the countertop, Junmyeon curled up on the corner sofa, still very much in Kyungsoo’s body. Yeah, he was still ed.

“I told you he would come back,” Baekhyun continued, then he snickered. “You’re walking funny.”

The teal dragon marched out the storeroom, glaring up at Baekhyun. “You try walking in a different body,” Kyungsoo growled.

He stopped just short of Jongin’s feet, claws clacking as he planted his paws firmly on the tops of Jongin’s shoes.

“Hi,” Jongin squeaked.

“Yeah, whatever. Go clean up the mess Junmyeon made, Chanyeol and Sehun will be here any minute. Then we are leaving,” the dragon huffed.

Jongin gulped, partly out of relief, and partly out of fear. At least Kyungsoo wasn’t throwing him out, but his tone…

The dragon stomped off, settling on a cushion Junmyeon had placed on the floor.

“Isn’t the dragon bed more comfortable?” Jongin asked.

“He hasn’t figured out how to jump yet,” Baekhyun quipped, sounding far too smug.

Kyungsoo glared at them both. “But I know how to bite,” he snapped.

Jongin bit his lip to hold back his laughter, because the last thing he needed to do was laugh at his boss when he was the source of the predicament. But grumpy Kyungsoo had always been cute, and grumpy miniature dragon Kyungsoo was even cuter. It took a lot of self-control to not pick the dragon up and cuddle it, so Jongin got to work picking up the shards of glass. The raspberry preserves had crusted over, sticky gunk that stained the shale tiles of the workroom floor. First he threw out the big chunks of broken jar glass and swept the smaller bits, then he rinsed out all the containers he’d used the day before, wiped down the counters, and finally, finally, started scrubbing the floor. His pride (and his knees) were definitely going to be bruised, but he certainly didn’t want to leave raspberry preserve goo stuck everywhere. He took a bucket with soapy water and a brush and started to scrub.

Then it was quiet. Baekhyun had half-flown, half hopped his way to Junmyeon’s lap, curled up, and fallen asleep, and Junmyeon followed suit, his head drooping onto the cushion. Kyungsoo had tucked his legs underneath himself, glaring at the wall until his eyelids began to wilt, the little dragon’s snout touching the floor when he fell asleep. Jongin’s arms ached and he fought the urge to yawn until he couldn’t. The sound of bristles against the floor soothed him, steady in the growing quiet of the shop.

The bell at the shop door tinkled, and the silence was interrupted by a boisterous laugh that meant Chanyeol and Sehun had arrived. Jongin paused his scrubbing and sat back on his heels, biting his lip when he saw the teal dragon stir from his sleep.

“Hey guys— oh,” Chanyeol boomed, sticking his head into the workroom.

“Watch it!” Kyungsoo yelped, scrambling to move out of their way.

“Oh hey buddy! Whatcha doing down th—”

“Do not pick me up, for ’s sake,” Kyungsoo hissed, skittering to avoid Chanyeol’s hands.

“You’re awfully grumpy today,” Chanyeol grumbled. “If I didn’t know any better I would say you’re acting like Kyungsoo.”

“That’s because he is Kyungsoo,” Baekhyun said with a yawn.

Chanyeol and Sehun stared at him, then at Kyungsoo, then at Junmyeon, who was rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“You know I don’t like being pranked,” Sehun grumbled.

“It’s not a prank,” Kyungsoo snapped.

“How?” Chanyeol and Sehun asked.

“It was, uh, my fault,” Jongin said meekly, raising his hand to wave at them.

“Oof,” said Sehun, “should I even ask?”

“Look,” Kyungsoo squeaked, walking over to Sehun’s side, “I need you guys to do me a favor and watch the shop while I’m gone. Junmyeon doesn’t know how to use a human body and I’m not about to let Jongin go off on his own to buy ingredients after this, so I need someone here. At least to let people know what’s going on. Wait no, don’t tell anyone, that’s embarrassing. Tell them I’m—”

“Home with a bad case of the s?” Sehun interrupted.

“I will bite your leg off,” Kyungsoo growled.

The tall wizard giggled, but the color drained from his cheeks when the dragon bared its teeth.

“You could say you broke your wrist,” Chanyeol suggested.

“That’s what the big doofus is good for,” Baekhyun said. “He’s supposed to be able to measure and cut and stir and package and massage and jerk and—”

“Ha!” Jongin rubbed his red ears, gulping when the magenta dragon gave him a smug look. “I think he means it needs to be something that knocks us both out of commission.”

“Stomach flu!” Chanyeol offered.

“What is it with you two and stomach illnesses?” Junmyeon said, pulling a face.

“Geostigma!” Sehun said.

“We need them to be too sick to work, not dead,” Chanyeol snapped. “What about electric flu?”

“That could work, actually,” said Kyungsoo. “Alright, Jongin make the list. We’re leaving now.”

“R-right now?” Jongin asked.

He stood and rubbed his knees, throwing the brush into the bucket. The dragon scoffed.

“Yes now. I’m not trying to be a dragon for more than a day. Let’s get moving.”

 

🝮

 

The Alchemist’s Tower was at the very center of all the districts, the golden flower that topped the cupola winking in the sunlight. Jongin had only studied in the tower for a few months before he got his apprenticeship with Kyungsoo, but in that time it hadn’t lost it’s intimidating aura.

He clambered out of the trolley. The Castle Line ended in the middle of a bustling marketplace, so crowded he could hardly make out the dusty blue stone floor that made up most of the Castle District. His bag shifted, and he tried not to squirm when Kyungsoo’s breath tickled his neck.

“You have the list on you, right?” the dragon asked.

“For the gajillionth time, yes,” Jongin hissed.

“Don’t sass me,” Kyungsoo snapped, pricking the back of Jongin’s neck with a claw, “I’ll stop quadruple checking everything you do when you stop experimenting and kicking me out of my body.”

Okay, so Jongin couldn’t really say anything to that.

“I’ve never messed anything up before,” he grumbled in protest.

“That I know of,” the dragon. 

Jongin couldn’t argue with that. He’d fixed most of his mistakes before Kyungsoo could notice, even if the other seemed confused when they ran out of ingredients faster. He shifted his pack, sighing when Kyungsoo squirmed and made it tilt to the right again, and started down the street.

The tower had an entrance for each district. The Castle District’s entrance was covered in gilded swirling patterns, and as they walked down the wide avenue the magnificent gate came into view. These gates were always open, and the bronze doors were bolted to the walls inside, but people still gave the gates a wide berth, out of quiet respect if nothing else. That was why the bustle of the marketplace was behind them, too racuous to crowd the Tower’s gate. The stores closest to the Tower had reputations to uphold as the priciest (and fanciest) shops, regardless of the district. The shops that lined the Main Road had gleaming golden fountains pens and leather-bound tomes behind glass windows, feathered hats and twinkling canes nestled between skirts of voluminous silk. One shop had beautiful bronze, glass, and faceted diamond beakers, and Jongin couldn’t help but stop before it.

“Aish, keep it moving, Jongin,” Kyungsoo grumbled. Then, “that faceted beaker is really nice though.”

“Isn’t it?”

“That’s enough looking, let’s get the ingredients we need,” the dragon huffed.

Jongin shook his head with a fond smile. He’d actually miss Kyungsoo as a dragon. He wouldn’t admit it (because he wanted to keep his head), but he wanted to cuddle the dragon and kiss its tummy, especially if Kyungsoo put up a mild protest. Except knowing Kyungsoo, the protesting would be anything but mild.

The inside of the tower was full of mages and alchemists in heavy robes, rich purples and blues with twinkling gold and silver stars, and embroidered patches of golden flowers. Some of them wore pointed hats while others wore turbans; some had scarves draped around their necks and some had glinting necklaces. Most of them didn’t notice Jongin, too preoccupied with their (undoubtedly very important) thoughts to give a young apprentice and a miniature dragon more than a glance.

To the right of the tower, nestled between the Castle District entrance and the Lake District, was the Tower Store. The vendor who ran it was swathed in peacock blue silk with gold beading. He twirled his beard around his finger, lost in thought as he stared into the crowd.

“Good afternoon,” Jongin said meekly.

The vendor jumped, laughing when he saw Jongin’s startled face. “Hello, good sir. What can I do for you today?”

“Do you have storm sugar?” Jongin started, taking the list from the dr