Chapter Text
It’s technically an acceptable time to come home when Namjoon and Yoongi walk in the door at 11:30, or at least an acceptable time for Seokjin, who insists nothing good can ever come from being away from your own bed after midnight besides sex. For years he’s tried his best to get everyone unlocked from whatever project they’re on and home in some capacity, and it finally seems like it’s working.
Comeback season is another matter, though, with all of them filtering through the door at different hours and days, but the entire pack does make a conscious effort to try, if only for their head omega’s peace of mind. The last thing any of them want is Seokjin not sleeping because someone isn’t there.
It’s a sort of relief, then, as they toe their shoes off in the entryway and he isn’t hovering in the doorway to either greet them or scold them or both. Yoongi sets about arming the alarm system for the house as Namjoon grabs their things and places them in their respective places - bags on the hooks, coats in the closet, keys in the bowl on the counter Jimin thrifted from outside of their favorite barbecue place in Myeongdong. The light is on low in the kitchen, and he knows that if they hadn’t already eaten earlier, there would be warm rice in the cooker.
Past the kitchen the living room is dark but for the fairy lights Jungkook insisted be strung into every corner imaginable (“for ambience, hyung”) and it’s because of their low blinking that Namjoon can see a cuddle pile on the floor. He counts heads just for peace of mind, a habit he’s never been able to break since becoming a pack, and slows his steps as he enters.
In the far corner of the room, right underneath the window but close enough to an outlet if need be, Seokjin is curled up in the big chair everyone loves, head pillowed by his hands and his favorite cozy blanket thrown over him for warmth. The tv is low, playing a drama they’ve all seen a million times, and he’s practically half asleep but still trying to stay up.
“Hey,” Namjoon says softly, stepping carefully around the pile of pups sleeping peacefully on the floor. He kneels next to his chair. “Why are you still awake?”
Seokjin answers first with a yawn that cracks his jaw, then, “You didn’t text.” He stretches as best he can underneath a blanket and then settles back against the chair again. “I didn’t know when you would be home so I figured I’d wait.”
“Sorry.” Namjoon gives him a soft peck on the cheek in apology and reaches out for his hand. His amber and vanilla scent is muted, soft and sleepy and comforting, but he isn’t upset. “We got caught up with a producer, which turned into dinner and another meeting.”
“It’s ok.” Another yawn. “Just glad you’re back. Where’s Yoongi?”
“Right here.” Yoongi steps into the living room quietly as ever and stands there looking at the three youngest. His hair is messed up from his hat, and in the low lights he looks as soft and sleepy as their hyung. “Did they mean to all fall asleep here or was it an accident?” he asks, amused.
A snort. “Both, I guess. Taehyung wanted to game but Jungkook wanted to watch a movie but Jimin wanted to practice more in the basement but Hobi told him no, so he came up to sulk for a while before they just all ended up on the floor.”
“Brats,” he says, but fondly, and reaches down to tuck a strand of hair out of Jungkook’s face. Their baby alpha, all muscles and tattoos, is tucked into the crook of Jimin’s neck with a leg thrown across him for good measure. Taehyung is curled up against his back, nose into his shoulder, and together, they smell like a spring garden after rain. It’s one of Namjoon’s favorite things, and he knows it’s the same for Yoongi and Seokjin and Hobi as well.
“We should probably get them up,” Namjoon says after a few moments, trying not to fall asleep himself with the feel of Seokjin’s fingers carding through his hair. “Jimin’s going to be hurting tomorrow if he doesn’t get off the floor, and Taehyung and Jungkook won’t feel too good about it, either.” They have a couple days off to recover from the grueling last few, but they would all still prefer everyone in bed.
A hum of agreement from the other two and then they take a moment to decide who gets who: Seokjin, with a bit of sweet talk, gets Taehyung awake and on his feet and clinging to his side as they make their way slowly up the stairs to one of the bedrooms. With a pack as large and as close as theirs, everyone shares with everyone, but there are still separate rooms for when someone needs a moment to themselves.
Namjoon knows for a fact that the pups will probably all go to one of the omega rooms to sleep - possibly Taehyung’s but probably Jimin’s - and settle down surrounded by soft things, plush toys, comforting smells, and each other. It’s a necessity for Jungkook to not be overwhelmed by any one scent and Jimin, with jasmine and cotton permeating everything, does his best to keep his room perfect.
Yoongi takes a moment to decide the best way to separate Jimin and Jungkook from each other without causing too much of a fuss. Luckily Jungkook is a deep sleeper, so it’s easy for Yoongi to wake Jimin with a hand up and down his arm. Jimin starts awake with a soft gasp, but once he gets his bearings and sees it’s Yoongi he calms down. In no time at all and with a moment to give Namjoon a quick kiss on the cheek, they both are on their way upstairs as well.
Which leaves Jungkook, dead to the world, and Namjoon. Honestly, Namjoon has lived with the youngest member long enough to know what works (kisses, blowjobs, promises of other sexual acts at a later time, and food) and what doesn’t (any amount of shaking, poking, tapping, or rolling him off of the bed) and he’s pretty sure he has an idea.
Three kisses later and Jungkook is sitting up and rubbing his eyes sleepily. He yawns a few times for good measure, stands up and cracks his back loudly, then gets on his tip toes for another kiss before grabbing Namjoon’s hand as he leads them up the stairs as well.
One of the most endearing qualities Jungkook has is his ability to yap, whenever and wherever about whatever. it isn’t a long trip from the living room to the stairs to the hallway to Jimin’s room, but in the time it takes to reach the doorway at the very end of the hall he makes sure to tell Namjoon all about the various dramas in his circles of friends, the plot of an anime he’s watching, and the tapping in the one bathroom drain that probably needs fixed.
In no time at all he’s slipping beneath the covers of Jimin’s large canopy bed, situating himself on one side of Jimin with Taehyung on the other. He yawns and mumbles as Namjoon bends down to kiss him again, then leaves pecks on the other two who are fast asleep once more. He wishes them all goodnight, sweet dreams, and is just turning to leave when Jungkook’s hand on his wrist stops him.
“Hyung,” he says quietly, “before you go to sleep can you check on Hobi hyung?”
Namjoon frowns. “Hoba?” he says. “Why?”
“He didn’t really eat anything we ordered for dinner, just said he was tired, and he didn’t even want to cuddle. We haven't seen him for a while, and we were going to go check on him but Jin hyung said he would come down when he was ready. But he never did.”
Namjoon frowns again, because that isn’t like Hoseok at all. If something is wrong he always talks to someone, he or Yoongi or Seokjin or one of the pups if it isn’t too serious, and he never turns down cuddling with anyone, much less Jungkook.
He’s also sort of ashamed of himself, because he hadn’t even noticed Hoseok hadn’t been in the living room with the others when he and Yoongi had come home. He had just assumed he had gone to bed earlier, and Seokjin hadn’t acted like anything was wrong, but what if it was and Namjoon hadn’t noticed?
“Yeah, of course I will,” he says after a moment, and reaches out for Jungkook’s hand again. “Thank you for telling me, pup.”
Jungkook, half asleep again, makes a murmur of assent, and after watching over the three of them for a moment longer, Namjoon makes his way out of the room and closes the door with a quiet click.
**
It doesn’t take him long to check all of the upstairs rooms and see that Hobi isn’t in any of them. Yoongi isn’t either, but he usually keeps to himself at night and Namjoon isn’t worried. He does, however, text him about Hoseok, and gets a thumbs up in reply.
He takes the steps downstairs two at a time, takes another quick second to switch off the flights in the living room and pick up pillows and fold blankets, then takes the long hallway back back back to the very rear of the house to where the alpha bedroom is located.
It wasn’t intentional, how it seemed to be the farthest away from all the other rooms in their home, but it works better that way sometimes, especially when one of them is in the throes of a rare unsuppressed rut. Jungkook doesn’t get violent, doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, but both Namjoon and Yoongi both have gone through ruts that are less gentle and more feral, and they’re thankful that unless discussed otherwise, they are the farthest away from the omegas as to keep them safe.
It’s kind of a sterile, plain space, and absolutely the opposite of the omega rooms: the bedsheets and pillowcases are basic cotton (cheap and easy to replace when need be), the mattress and frame purchased less for comfort and more for practicality. There’s a small bathroom in the corner with basic soaps and shampoos, a fridge for drinks and easy snacks, and that’s about it.
It also smells like a raging thunderstorm, which can be too strong for even Namjoon’s nose sometimes. It isn’t that he doesn’t like his and Yoongi’s scents together (wind and earth, petrochoir and ozone) but in the heat of the moment, where everything smells burnt and torched and simply too much, he can’t wait to spend time with the others to clear his brain and his nose.
The omegas and Junngkook, however, can’t get enough of it. Namjoon still doesn’t understand how their youngest can sleep in a room that smells like the aftermath of a natural disaster with such a sensitive nose but sometimes when he can’t get comfortable upstairs he comes down here, and swears he’s never slept better, so that’s where Namjoon is headed.
His phone pings in his pocket as he reaches the door, a text from Yoongi confirming what he already knew: Hoseok was here, but he was fine, he was sleeping, and he was waiting for him to decide what to do next. Yoongi was just as capable of an alpha as he was, and 10 years ago he would have fought tooth and nail with him in the backyard over his default (and they had a few times, fighting so badly they scared the pups and left bruises all over the other that had lasted for weeks) but as he told him time and time again when it was time to make a big pack decision, Namjoon was their alpha, not him. He was perfectly fine to listen instead of making the decisions.
So Namjoon replies with a quick thumbs up of his own, pockets his phone again, and pushes open the door.